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

Had a great Thanksgiving dinner courtesy of Xi and Yangjian, who made a delicious turkey and many more. After the meal, we watched a dvd together then played mahjong , the game of Chinese. I grew up in a province where people just love to play but I didn't really like it until recently because it reminded me the festival times at home. The game is so simple that you can pick it up within minutes but takes a long time to master. Nevertheless, everyone can enjoy it, at different competitive level depending on what rules you are playing with. The rules we were using was our own greatly simplified adaptation of the Chinese National Rules of Competitive Mahjong . Most of the times, I could only keep my intial wealth. But when we played again last night, I was very lucky to have doubled my poker chips. Hope it bodes well for the new year. BTW, we also went bowling in a AMF center nearby. It was fun.

Rose rocks on Stage Originally uploaded by nuance1979 , courtesy of Ariya. Went to an awesome Guns N' Roses concert in the 1st Mariner Arena . Axl Rose was excellent on stage. With a rose red mic and stand, he demanded attention and rocked the hell out of it. Rose on piano for "November Rain" Originally uploaded by nuance1979 , courtesy of Ariya. The band showed their ample ability of delivering high-voltage, hardcore heavy metal songs as well as softer, lyrical ones like "Knockin' On Heaven's Door". Guns N' Roses in Baltimore Originally uploaded by nuance1979 , courtesy of Ariya. Opened with "Welcome to the Jungle" and encored with "Paradise City", they did most of their hit songs and new songs from their new album "Chinese Democracy" almost nonstop from 11pm to 1am, including my all-time favorite "Sweet Child O' Mine" . Rose's voice wasn't in great shape but his vigoro...

Went to an exciting recital featuring pipa soloist Wu Man , an internationally recognized virtuoso who had worked on "Silk Road Project" with Yo-Yo Ma, among others. She started the concert with two signature pieces of solo pipa, "Flute and Drum Music at Sunset"(夕阳箫鼓) and "Ambush from All Sides"(十面埋伏), which showcased her virtuosity on as well as the emotional range of this ancient Chinese instrument. Then she went on with more recent compositions by Chinese and Western composers, who learned intensively from each other and provided interesting perspectives. The last piece on the program was an interactive modern audiovisual work for pipa and percussion, "Ancient Dances", which was inspired by three poems by Li Bai , a famous poet from Tang Dynasty. I would say this piece was exploring pipa's potential as a percussion instrument and it worked out quite nicely. This concert was made possible by Shriver Hall Concert Series, Baltimore Museum o...

Roger Federer Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . The USTA National Tennis Center was like a shopping mall with many promotional booths and shops selling tennis gear or US Open souvenirs. I was so impressed by Federer that I even bought a blue Nike headband. Louis Armstrong Stadium Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . When the night fell, our US Open trip was about to end. Sadly I missed Maria Sharapova, whose game with Tatiana Golovin was scheduled in the night session and looked like a fashion show, and Andy Roddick, too. But we did enjoy being so close to those top players and watching the games in a sunny Wednesday afternoon.

Rafael Nadal Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . We then went to the Louis Armstrong Stadium, a cozier place to watch two of my favorite players: the passionate, vigorous Rafael Nadal and the masterful, unbelievable Roger Federer . Federer Serving Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . While Nadal surprisingly lost to the underdog Mikhail Youzhny, Federer bearly broke a sweat in winning his opponent Marc Gicquel. You could feel (and hear) Nadal was fighting on the court but Federer, he looked almost bored: Winning was such a chore. I had no doubt he would win this US Open.

Marat Safin Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . I learned to play tennis in college but struggled to improve beyond the beginner level. It wasn't easy to keep playing because the courts were scarce and expensive and good racquets were expensive, too. And most importantly, I didn't try hard enough. Coming to the United States, I suddenly found myself surrounded by free courts and decent racquets with cheap prices. So I was happy to pick it up again. With a stronger body I had built with regular exercises, I enjoyed this game much more. So when I found a coupon for buying a US Open 2006 game ticket for bloody $10, I bought it in no time. A month later I was sitting in the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, NY, watching Marat Safin battling his way. It was a very close game but he eventually lost to Tommy Haas in the fifth set tiebreak. Dominika Cibulkova in Jr. Girls' Singles Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . Taking a break, we walked to the ground courts ...

Venetian Painting Exhibition Poster Originally uploaded by nuance1979 . My final destination and the real goal of this trip was the Venetian Painting Exhibition in the National Gallery of Art . I had always amazed by how the Venetian painters were able to capture the sensuality of a female body and presented in a provocative way. Bellini started it with the "Lady with a Mirror", 1515, which was featured in the poster for this exhibition, and Titian finally exceeded his old master with "Flora", 1520, "Pastroral Concert", 1510, among others. The most interesting showdown of this master-and-pupil "duel" was Bellini and Titian's "Feast of the Gods", 1514 and 1529 vs. Titian's "Bacchanal of the Andrians", 1522-1524, with the latter being an apparent rework of the same motif. It was this exhibition that reunited these two great paintings and placed them side by side as they were placed in an original exhibition arr...