801号房. . .内心深处的心声

藝人許瑋倫從小就是美人胚子，在父母刻意栽培下，4歲開始學鋼琴還有豎琴。許瑋倫曾說自己很容易生病，又很調皮，居然把黑豆放進鼻孔，甚至剪瀏海剪破了自己的嘴！只是家境不錯的許瑋倫，一直被同學視為嬌嬌女，高中時期還被同學欺負。

一臉燦爛的笑臉，馬上吸引住人，這就是許瑋倫才幾個月大時的模樣，從小就是陽光般的笑容！3、4歲的她，一套粉紅色運動服，小短褲露出瘦瘦的一雙腿。

家境不錯的許瑋倫，氣質美女是媽媽栽培出來的！4歲開始學琴，頭綁著蝴蝶結，一身小洋裝，正經八百的彈鋼琴；還有這張，穿著粉色系小禮服彈著豎琴，喜歡動物的許瑋倫，也偏好安靜的寵物。

藝人許瑋倫：「如果我是養大狗的話，我一定要那種比較安靜的，像那種秋田犬，就是看起來很兇，但其實很溫馴，比較會撒嬌，對。」

其實許瑋倫國中時期就被星探發掘過，但家人阻止，直到拍了便利商店的廣告，才正式踏入演藝圈！許瑋倫說自己小時候常生病，也很調皮，居然曾把黑豆放進鼻孔，或是自己剪瀏海跌倒，而剪破了嘴。

高中唸華崗藝校，被人認為是難搞的千金小姐，還被同學欺負說壞話！也曾經因為對名牌有迷思，最後被媽媽嚇阻，才開始自己學著DIY飾品。許瑋倫：「我縫上去的地方可能就是會很醜或是什麼，那就是用釦子，把它蓋住就好了。」

出道才5年，因為外型加上好運，許瑋倫一炮而紅，和家人一向親密的許瑋倫，成長點滴，此時看在親友眼中，卻是無限哀傷感慨。

當年許瑋倫唸華崗藝校前，其實就已經簽了經紀約，當上少女雜誌的Model，算是「校花級」的美女。 許瑋倫在國樂團裡表現出色，高二那年她負責打擊，當年的珍貴照片首度曝光。

華岡藝校校長丁永慶：「啊！她(許瑋倫)在這裡，她穿的是我們叫做『華夏服』。」

瘦高的許瑋倫，認真敲著三角鐵，11年前，她還是個高二生，但看的出，國樂團裡就屬她最亮眼。丁永慶：「(那時候是演奏…)打擊。」記者：「打擊？」丁永慶：「對，她事實上主修箜篌。」

氣質好，許瑋倫是當年華岡校花之一，教過她合唱課的校長卻爆料，許瑋倫的唱功其實有待加強。丁永慶：「(歌喉)應該算是只是普通， 所以後來我在媒體上看說 ，她(許瑋倫)要出唱片 ， 我也是有點訝異。」

不過畢業後，她倒是進步很多。許瑋倫：「無條件為你放棄單獨的旅程，為你堅強，就不怕犧牲。」

之後許瑋倫一腳踏進演藝圈，拍戲接廣告，校長很感嘆。 丁永慶：「我覺得每個人，有每個人的路， 但是我這幾天覺得好後悔， 覺得她不應該走這條路， (怎麼說)也許不走這條路 ，就不會碰到這樣的事。」

其實，當年許瑋倫進華岡藝校之前就簽了經紀約，當MODEL。哪管是扮活力女孩，秀約會打扮，許瑋倫俏皮活潑的演出超自然，後期染了一頭金髮表現叛逆，也很傳神。

儘管師長多次反對，但許瑋倫的天生麗質，注定她要走上星途。

藝人許瑋倫車禍過世，下午靈堂佈置完成，晚上持續有不少親友，前來致意，家屬已經決定，將在2月8日舉行家祭，但不會對外舉行公忌；許瑋倫的好友，同是藝人ENERGY的團員阿弟和藝人陳宇凡，接受媒體訪問表示，他們會將會為瑋倫舉辦一場音樂形式的追思會。

目前音樂會的方式、詳細的細節，將由許瑋倫的家人決定；朋友們難掩哀傷，但表示會好好的送許瑋倫最後的一程。

Taiwanese actress Hsu Wei-lun (許瑋倫) passed away yesterday, 43 hours after she was admitted into the Cheng Ching Hospital following a car crash, doctors said.

Hsu, 28, suffered excessive trauma to the head from a car accident late Friday night, causing cerebral hemorrhage and swelling.

Doctors said Hsu’s condition worsened at 5:09 p.m. last night. The severely injured actress went into cardiac arrest, and doctors were unable to revive her even after more than two hours of emergency treatment. She passed away at 7:37 p.m., the hospital said.

Hsu entered showbusiness five years ago, impressing critics by taking on challenging roles in various TV dramas over the years. She won the best supporting actress from the Golden Bell Award in her first year in the entertainment industry.

Hospital spokesperson Wu Chien-chi said Hsu’s pupil remained dilated and her cerebral pressure high despite doctors’ efforts in the past two days to reduce the pressure from the excessive accumulation of water in the brain.

The actress’ family and friends stayed close to Hsu while the actress fought to live. Sources close to the family said Hsu’s mother cried outside the room and said she was willing to give away 30 years of her life in exchange for her daughter’s recovery. Meanwhile, Hsu’s father went to Pingtung to conduct a blessing ceremony in the hope of extending his daughter’s life.

Local entertainers urged the general public to pray for the injured Hsu.

Newspapers reported that Hsu’s assistant, surnamed Lin, who was the driver of the vehicle, suffered an emotional meltdown and a minor injury, and was unable to go through an investigation.

Late Friday night, the car that Hsu and Lin were riding in crashed into a guard rail on the National Expressway No.1. The vehicle skidded and came to a halt between the freeway shoulder and outermost lane, but moments later it was hit by a truck from behind. The National Highway Police Bureau has yet to confirm that Lin was indeed the driver in the car accident, but said it needs more time to investigate and to clear the suspicious points of the case.

偶像藝人許瑋倫昨天晚間7點38分，宣告不治。家屬也在凌晨，將遺體連夜送回台北。包括演藝圈好友鄭元暢、陳宇凡等人，都趕往台中見她最後一面。前男友李威沒有現身，但請堂弟李易帶了一捲DVD給許瑋倫的家人，而當許瑋倫遺體被推出時，更是雙手合十，口中不斷為她祝禱。

熬不過生死關卡，許瑋倫還是走了。凌晨趕往澄清醫院，親朋好友，和她做最後的道別。再看一眼，卻有更多不捨。紅著眼眶，雙手合十，誦經聲中，許瑋倫連夜移靈台北。

正在合拍偶像劇的男主角施易男，戴著口罩，難掩哀戚。而壓低帽緣的鄭元暢，情緒低落。曾經合作過的演藝圈好友，包括陳宇帆、ENERGY的阿弟，默念祝禱。

前男友李威雖然沒有現身，不過得知許瑋倫死訊，讓他情緒崩潰，之前想前往醫院探視，卻被許家人阻擋，只好託堂弟李易帶DVD送到醫院表達心意，李威也選擇最接近醫院的飯店高樓層，遙寄祝福，沒想到等到的還是惡耗，而戴著白帽子的李易，也只能幫堂哥李威，送許瑋倫最後一程。

從台中到台北，靈車緩緩前往第二殯儀館。眼淚中，許瑋倫甜美身影，如今，只能成為大家心中永遠的記憶。

悼念許瑋倫～重溫惡男宅急電

悼念許瑋倫～ 給天國最美麗的天使

重溫許瑋倫最佳演出　惡男宅急電

播出時間：1/29起　每週一至週五　TVBS-G　

晚間12:00~凌晨1:00 播出

重播時間：週六、日　17:00~18:00；台音台　

週一至週五　21:00~22:00

It’s been such a long time since I have post anything on my blog. Been rather busy lately. Got involved in the university’s degree show graduation work. Open house fund raising. Work – in – Progress Exhibition (Frankly not really involved in that. JS helped us out on that). And was too tied up with my Masters Thesis project. Gosh! I looked back at the calendar last night. D-Day is set on the March 24^th. It’s on a Saturday.

Sometimes, I hate that the month flies with just a blink. I realised that time’s just not enough for a day. 12 hours of daylight, 12 hours of night. This is just not enough. And the strangest thing is that, I came especially active when it comes to design at night. Daylight, I would just spend my time reading, organising my stuffs, so on and so forth.

Mental block! Stuck is the word to use. Got Stuck! And still Stuck! I’m not sure what’s happening really. Maybe that happens to many design students, I suppose. I’m bet the design genius got that problem too. Hear stories about life in AA from Pete. Hear stories of reading Masters in the States from KN.

BREAKING NEWS!

Taiwan actress Xu Wei Lun passed away at 7.37pm on Sunday (January 28). Her heartbeat stopped at 5.09pm and the doctors didn’t manage to get her back after 2 hours of rescue. Wei Lun met with a car accident on Friday night and couldn’t recover from her head injury. She suffered internal breeding in her skull. It’s sad to see her died at such a young age; she’s a good actress and got some good talents… she was actually planning to release her debut album later this year. I bet her fans will be sad with the tragic lost, just like I do. I understand how her family feels. We have been through that before, when Pete met with an accident. The fortunate thing is that Pete came around and recovered within a month despite a serious accident. But Wei Lun did not. She left this world at a young age. Can’t help but feel sad about it. Really, I want to ask, why this world is so come to terms with that! No matter how hard I tried! Venerable once told me that nothing is permanent in this world. But Venerable isn’t this so cruel! Why! Gosh, this spoils my Monday morning!

An extract in Chinese from www.tvbs.com.tw

許瑋倫宣告不治，許多親朋好友都趕到醫院，陪她走完最後一程，一名粉絲媽媽無法接受事實，痛哭失聲，她親自寫的祝福卡片，來得太遲，許瑋倫再也看不見。

無法接受偶許瑋倫像離開人間的事實，粉絲衝到醫院，完全止不住淚水。許瑋倫粉絲母親：「從她出車禍那天開始，(女兒)就跟我講，因為我們家住這裡而已，她一直希望能夠進去，昨天就把這個(卡片)交給我，但因為我一直沒有機會進去。」

手上還握著女兒要給許瑋倫的卡片，滿滿2頁的字，寫的都是對許瑋倫的支持和祝福，只是這張卡片已經來的太遲，再也無法讓許瑋倫看到。

許瑋倫粉絲母親：「她說她發生這件事情覺得很震驚，而且很難過，然後就叫她一定要加油，要好起來，還有我們大家在等著你，陪著你，自己要加油，不要放棄。」

來遲的還有劇組的導演和工作人員，包括男主角施易男，個個都是面色凝重，但最難過的就是許瑋倫的父親，白髮送黑髮，他強忍悲痛，在加護病房外面處理後事。

幾個演藝圈的好朋友，包括姊妹淘林依晨，好友金剛、張善為，這段期間也都在許瑋倫的身旁，陪她走完最後一程，家屬凌晨將把許瑋倫的遺體送回台北，安葬在慈恩園。

No mood . . . . now, seriously!

Have you ever feel so upset over a meal? No? Then, let me share with you. Joey and I went to have our so call snack at about half 10 today. She’s been craving for beef noodles since last month. So, off we went to the KOPITIAM at Plaza by the Park, which is in front of SMU. This happened last December!

 
That’s the bloody 50 CENTS balls! Soup’s tasteless

Chilli sucks too! This Chilli is basically the one you have for Duck and Chicken Rice!

We came to this stall that sells beef noodles. Joey decided to go first ordering her beef ball noodles soup. And I ordered a bowl of mixed beef bowl instead. I specific that I wanted only the soup and not the set.

 
That’s the STALL!

The stall-holders, I spoke Chinese to them, when they don’t understand English. And he repeated my order and Joey’s order.

Well, as usual you have to wait for your food to be cooked and you pay when you received your hot steamy food. But, hell no! The 2 bloody men just talked to each other for about 5 minutes, before they decided to cook our order! Damn! Then one bloody guy came out and told sister that “We are charging 50 cents per beef ball.”

Damn! 50 CENTS per bloody beef ball! Eh! What was that! Damn! What a joke! When I ordered beef ball noodles outside, they don’t tell me it’s 50CENTS per ball! What does your balls made of? We don’t know whether to laugh or cry! And it cost her $4 bucks! $3.00 for the balls and $1 for the noodles and veggie! The soup is tasteless! So blend, you can’t taste anything!

And me!  The same guy. I said I want soup! He gave me soup alright, he charges me $5.00 for a bowl of soup that has nothing and told that when customers don’t want set meal, we gave them more stuffs! I look at my bowl; there’s isn’t anything at all! A few pieces of meat and 2 balls and a bunch of vegetables and a few pieces of winter melon! YOU THINK I BLOODY RICH AR! YOU DARE TO CHARGE ME $5.00 FOR THAT! YOU . . . . YOU . . . . . CAN YOU BLOODLY ASK BEFORE YOU MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION! RESPECT YOUR CUSTOMER’S CHOICE!

I SWEAR I WILL NEVER COME T YOU’RE STALL AGAIN! LOUSY SERVICE!

Sawajiri Erika, lead actress of 1 Litre of Tears.

Aya is confronted with the illness, Spinocerebellar Degeneration, in which the nerve cells of areas necessary for the human body to move and balance–including the cerebellum, brain stem, and spinal cord–transform are weaken as the syndrome worsens. This will result in the patient’s lost of his or her ability to talk, walk, stand and even feeding themselves.

1Litre of Tears: Best of 2006 Japanese Drama

Ikeuchi Aya (Sawajiri Erika, view her images below), a 15 year old girl, is the eldest daughter in a normal Japanese family. She lives with her reliable mother, Shioka, who works as a nutritionist, her father, Mizuo, the wacky owner of a tofu shop, her quiet younger brother, Hiroki, and two younger sisters, the sarcastic Ako and innocent Rika. (See screen shots)

On the day of her high school entrance exam, however she missed her stop and had to get off the bus and walked all the way to her high school because she fell asleep on the bus journey. She quickly got off and ran from the bus stop in the rain when she discovered she was late. She slipped and injured her knee. At this juncture, she met Haruto Aso, who was trying to skip the exam. He gave her a ride to school, the exam administrators allowed them to take the exam (despite the fact that Haruto was not keen on the exam), in which they both passed.

The new semester started with Aya and Haruto were in the same class. Both were elected as the representatives of their class. Aya joined the school’s basketball team, and reunited with the boy whom she was fond of, from the male basketball team. Just as she was beginning to enjoy her high school days, Aya starts to experience some physical difficulties. She would drop food from her chopsticks, having difficulties in estimating the distance of the objects in front of her. She would spill water out of her cup whenever she pours herself a drink. She would occasionally wobble while walking. Her mother, Shioka, was the only one who notices the unusual changes in Aya, and was rather concern about this sudden change.

Aya’s life started to change, when she fell and tripped. She couldn’t protect herself with her hands while falling and she hurt her face. Her illness was revealed and her condition worsens . . .

The plot is based on a true story of a Japanese girl named Kito Aya, who contacted Spinocerebellar Degeneration. She constantly updates her diary to document her experiences until till the day she lost all ability to talk and strength. Aya was noble and lived her life till the fullest even with the fact that she’s down with Spinocerebellar Degeneration. The diary served as a source of confidence booster, in which she found strength to live on despite her illness. She shed tears countless of times, surrounded by the love and support from her family, friends, and boyfriend. She braved on, each time. Her diary “1 Litre of Tears” 1リットルの涙―難病と闘い続ける少女亜也の日記 was published after her death, with its inspiring and courageous message of, “Just being alive is such a lovely and wonderful thing.”

Kito Aya passed away at the age of 25, in a bed of flowers.

So far, over 18,000,000 copies of her diary have been sold.

Each time I watched each series, I couldn’t help myself but to shed tears, along with the characters. Many a times, we have take life for granted and didn’t realise the true meaning of life. “Just being alive is such a lovely and wonderful thing . . .” Yes, I am delighted to live to see the brand new day every time I opened my eyes. I’m delighted to be able to walk, eat, laugh and have a chance to breathe the first breath of fresh air. How lucky am I truly . . .

Sawajiri Erika

Sawajiri Erika, model, actress, singer

Got these from my sis’s friend. She just came back from Japan! Here’s what she got for us.And believe me, they all taste great!

The Qingming Festival (Traditional Chinese: 清明節; Simplified Chinese: 清明节; pinyin: qīng míng jié), or Ching Ming Festival used in Hong Kong, literally Clear and Bright Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival on the 104th day after the winter solstice, usually occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar (see Chinese calendar). Astronomically, it is also a solar term (See Qingming). Its name denotes a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime (踏青 Tàqīng, “treading on the greenery”), and also to tend to the graves of departed ones. It is an official public holiday in the Republic of China, as well as in Hong Kong and Macau though not in mainland China.

My family during Qing Ming at my Grandfather’s tomb (I guess its 2 years back)

My family during Qing Ming at my Grandfather’s tomb (I guess its 2 years back)

The holiday is also known by a number of other names in the English language:

• All Souls Day (not to be confused with the Roman Catholic holiday, All Souls Day, of the same name)
• Clear Brightness Festival
• Festival for Tending Graves
• Grave Sweeping Day
• Memorial Day
• Tomb Sweeping Day

Tomb Sweeping Day is the most common English translation and is used in several English language newspapers published in the Republic of China.

For the Chinese, it is a day to remember and honour one’s ancestors. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food and libation to the ancestors. The rites are very important to most Chinese and especially farmers.

At my Grandmother’s tomb (I guess its 2 years back)

At my Grandmother’s tomb (I guess its 2 years back)

The April Fifth Movement and the Tiananmen Incident were major events involving Qing Ming Jie that took place in the history of the People’s Republic of China. When Premier Zhou Enlai died in 1976, thousands visited him during the festival to pay respect. In the Republic of China, April 4th coincides with the passing of Chiang Kai-shek and the date is designated as a national holiday.

On a note, the overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asian nations such as Singapore and Malaysia also practice this custom. However the practice is in decline in these regions.

Qingming Festival was created by Duke Wen of Jin during the spring and autumn period when he accidentally killed his personal friend and advisor Jie Zhitui (介之推) and his mother in a fire blaze in the hope of making him return to Duke Wen.

The famous Qingming scroll by Zhang Zeduan is an ancient Chinese painting which portrays the scene of Kaifeng city, the capital of Song Dynasty during Qingming period.

Qingming was frequently mentioned in Chinese literature. Among these, the most famous one is probably Du Mu’s poem (simply titled “Qingming”):

Traditional Chinese / Simplified Chinese / pinyin

清明時節雨紛紛 / 清明时节雨纷纷 / qīng míng shí jié yǔ fēn fēn

路上行人欲斷魂 / 路上行人欲断魂 / lù shàng xíng rén yù duàn hún

借問酒家何處有 / 借问酒家何处有 / jiè wèn jiǔ jiā hé chù yǒu

牧童遙指杏花村 / 牧童遥指杏花村 / mù tóng yáo zhǐ xìng huā cūn

English translation

A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day;

The mourner’s heart is going to break on his way.

Where can a wineshop are found to drown his sad hours?

A cowherd points to a cot ‘mid apricot flowers.

In the Vietnamese epic poem The Tale of Kieu, Qingming is also mentioned as the occasion where the protagonist Kieu meets a ghost. The lines describing the sceneries during this festival remain some of the most well-known lines in

Vietnamese literature:

Ngày xuân con én đưa thoi

Thiều quang chín chục đã ngoài sáu mươi

Cỏ non xanh tận chân trời

Cành lê trắng điểm một vài bông hoa

Thanh Minh trong tiết tháng ba

Lễ là Tảo mộ, hội là Đạp thanh

Gần xa nô nức yến oanh

Chị em sắm sửa bộ hành chơi xuân

English translation

Swift swallows and spring days were shuttling by

Of ninety radiant ones three score had fled.

Young grass spread all its green to heaven’s rim;

Some blossoms marked pear branches with white dots.

Now came the Feast of Light in the third month

With graveyard rites and junkets on the green.

As merry pilgrims flocked from near and far,

The sisters and their brother went for a stroll.

Cold Food Festival

Legend has it that Chong’er, Prince of Jin, had to endured many hardships while he made his travels around the Warring Kingdoms. Once, in order to help the Prince who is tormented by hunger, Jie Zhi Tui cut off the flesh from his thigh and offered it to the prince for sustenance.

Later on when Chong’er became King of Jin, he ordered a search for Jie Zhi Tui who had gone into hiding in the remote mountains with his mother. Despite the effort the search failed. Chong ordered the mountains to be burned down (!) in order to force Jie out of hiding. Unfortunately the fire ended up killing Jie and his mother.

Filled with remorse, Chong ordered that each year during these three days the setting of fire is forbidden – all food was to be consumed cold. Therefore the Festival is thus named (In Jie Xiu City of the Shan Xi Province locals still remember this tradition clearly. But even for them the tradition of eating cold food is no longer actually practiced.)

In reality, the true source of the Cold Food Festival started from the ancient tradition of setting fire by rubbing wood pieces together and the tradition of lighting new fires. Due to the change of seasons and the change in the type of wood available, the ancient practice is to change the type of fire-starter-wood used from season to season. Fire is lighted anew upon the start of each season. Before the new fire is officially started no one is allowed to light a fire. This was an important event during that time. The traditionally practiced activities during the Cold Food Festival includes the visitation of ancestral tombs, cock-fighting, playing on swings, beating the blankets (to freshen them), and tug-of-war, etc. The practice of visitation of ancestral tombs is especially ancient.

For China the Spring Ancestral Worship used to be practiced during the time of the Cold Food Festival. It was later moved to coincide with the Qingming Festival. However in Korea, the tradition of practicing Spring Ancestral Worship during the Cold Food Festival still remains.

Zhang Zeduan’s most famous painting is Qingming Shanghe Tu (清明上河圖 qīng míng shàng hé tú) also known as “Along the River During Ching Ming Festival” although this translation is disputed. It is a very wide (around 30 feet) hand scroll which depicts a city. The translation of its title is disputed; as the word “Qingming” can refer to either the Qingming Festival or to peace and order, two translations have been proposed by scholars: Going Upriver on the Qingming Festival or Peace Reigns Over the River.

 清明上河圖

Traditionally, three things have been believed about the painting:

• The city depicted is Kaifeng.
• It was painted before the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty in 1127.
• It depicts the Qingming Festival.

More recent scholarship challenges all three of those assertions:

• The city depicted is an idealized non-existent city.
• It was painted after the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty in 1127.
• It depicts a scene in early fall.

The Qingming Scroll is historically notable as one of the few paintings from the former imperial collection that is still in the possession of Mainland China; it was a particular favourite of emperor Puyi, who took it with him to Manchukuo and thus kept the Southern Song Dynasty original out of the collection of the National Palace Museum which was subsequently moved to Taiwan. The National Palace Museum in Taiwan collects other versions painted by artists of subsequent dynasties [1]. Now held at the Forbidden City, the Southern Song original is closely guarded by Chinese authorities and only exhibited for brief periods every few years.

[1] Valerie Hansen, “The Mystery of the Qingming Scroll and Its Subject: The Case Against Kaifeng,” Journal of Sung-Yuan Studies 26 (1996), 183-200.

Mood swing, I think I have mood swing for the past 2 days! Har! Don’t ask me why! I really don’t know. I’m feeling down, don’t tell me I got menopause? No! It can’t be! Many, I was too tired, I work and work and work and was so tired, that I got so tired that I fell flat on my bed and knock out completely!

A mood swing is an extreme or rapid change in mood. They are commonly associated with mood disorders, of which the classic example is bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression) and also a major factor in hyperactive or hyperactive/inattentive ADHD. However they should not be confused with these disorders, for they are not the same.

Other causes of mood swings are due to hormonal changes that can temporarily upset brain chemistry, such as during PMS, per menopause, menopause or puberty. As the hormones involved normalize, these mood swings generally subside on their own.

I basically, I think I slept whole day today? I can’t remember! Met my friend to discuss some matters, went back home, I think fell asleep right away!

Well, there goes my weekend! SLEEPING!

Spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) is a genetic disease with multiple types, each of which could be considered a disease in its own right.

Symptoms

Spinocerebellar ataxia is one of a group of genetic disorders characterized by slowly progressive in coordination of gait and often associated with poor coordination of hands, speech, and eye movements. Frequently, atrophy of the cerebellum occurs.

As with other forms of ataxia, SCA results in unsteady and clumsy motion of the body due to a failure of the fine coordination of muscle movements, along with other symptoms.

The symptoms of the condition vary with the specific type (there are several), and with the individual patient. Generally, a sufferer retains full mental capacity but may progressively lose physical control.

Treatment and prognosis

There is no known cure for this degenerative condition, which lasts for the remainder of the sufferer’s life.

Treatments are generally limited to softening symptoms, not the disease itself. The condition can be irreversible. A person with this disease will usually end up needing to use a wheelchair, and eventually they will need assistance to perform daily tasks.

Both onset of initial symptoms and duration of disease can be subject to variation. If the disease is caused by a polyglutamine trinucleotide repeat CAG expansion, a longer expansion will lead to an earlier onset and a more radical progression of clinical symptoms, resulting in earlier death.

Diagnosis

It can be easily misdiagnosed as another neurological condition, such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

One means of identifying the disease is with an MRI to view the brain. Once the disease has progressed sufficiently, the cerebellum (a part of the brain) can be seen to have visibly shrunk. The most precise means of identifying SCA, including the specific type, is through DNA analysis. Some, but far from all, types of SCA may be inherited, so a DNA test may be done on the children of a sufferer, to see if they are at risk of developing the condition.

SCA is related to olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA); SCA types 1, 2, and 7 are also types of OPCA. However, not all types of OPCA are types of SCA, and vice versa. This overlapping classification system is both confusing and controversial to some in this field.

Types

The following is a list of some, not all, types of spinocerebellar ataxia. The first ataxia gene was identified in 1993 for a dominantly inherited type. It was called “Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1″ (SCA1). Subsequently, as additional dominant genes were found they were called SCA2, SCA3, etc. Usually, the “type” number of “SCA” refers to the order in which the gene was found. At this time, there are at least 28 different gene mutations which have been found (not all listed).

Identifying the different types of SCA now requires knowledge of the normal genetic code, and faults in this code, which is contained in a person’s DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid). The “CAG” mentioned below is one of many three-letter sequences that makes up the genetic code, this specific one coding the amino acid glutamine. Thus, those ataxias with poly CAG expansions, along with several other neurodegenerative diseases resulting from a poly CAG expansion, are referred to as polyglutamine diseases.

Inheritance

The hereditary ataxias are categorized by mode of inheritance and causative gene or chromosomal locus. The hereditary ataxias can be inherited in an autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or X-linked manner.

Numerous types of autosomal dominant cerebella ataxias are now known for which specific genetic information is available. Synonyms for autosomal dominant cerebella ataxias (ADCA) used prior to the current understanding of the molecular genetics were Marie’s ataxia, inherited olivopontocerebellar atrophy, cerebello-olivary atrophy, or the more generic term “Spinocerebellar degeneration.” (Spinocerebellar degeneration is a rare inherited neurological disorder of the central nervous system characterized by the slow degeneration of certain areas of the brain. There are three forms of Spinocerebellar degeneration: Types 1, 2, 3. Symptoms begin during adulthood.)

There are five typical autosomal recessive disorders in which ataxia are a prominent feature: Friedreich ataxia, ataxia-telangiectasia, ataxia with vitamin E deficiency, ataxia with coulometer paraxial, spastic ataxia. Disorder Subdivisions: Friedreich’s ataxia, Marie’s ataxia, Ataxia telangiectasia, vasomotor ataxia, Vestibulo cerebellar, Ataxiadynamia, Ataxiophemia, Olivopontocerebellar atrophy, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

Medical

• Genes and Disease – Gives a concise description of SCA, along with a picture of shrunken degenerated cerebellum.
• Rehab Network web site – Detailed description of SCA.
• Cerebella Degenerations
• Hereditary ataxia overview
• NINDS machado_joseph
• DRPLA – Dentatorubropallidoluysian atrophy (DRPLA) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder characterised by myoclonus, epilepsy, cerebella ataxia, choreoathetosis and dementia.

When Chinglish goes wrong this is what you get! (Please view the images below). Beijing Central Government is trying to put a stop to all these mistakes, as such mistranslations would reflect badly onto their on-going campaign of Speak English Beijing 2008. This is in-lieu of the Beijing Olympics 2008. And what about Signages that went wrong too? Below is an essay extracted from the journal titled: “Travellers’ Tales: What Colour is Your Jock Strap?”

Chinglish Gallery Here

____________________________________________________________________

Utterly lost in translation

Wed Jul 5, 11:00 AM ET

One afternoon a few years ago, I went out for lunch at a restaurant not far from the south Thailand guesthouse where I’d been staying. My landlady ran the place, and on this day she seemed particularly pleased to see me. “We have new English menu!” she exclaimed, presenting me with a glossy list of entrees.

I took a seat and scanned the menu, which listed the kinds of dishes I’d always eaten there — red curry, pad Thai, tom yam. Then, amidst the standard delicacies (and in cheery capital letters) I noticed a dish I’d never before sampled in this part of the world: FRIED RICE WITH CRAP.

Concerned, I took the menu over to my landlady. “I think this dish is a mistake,” I told her.

“Oh, no!” she replied brightly. “We make seafood for you! Fresh from water!”

I gave my landlady a sceptical look. “But surely ‘crap’ is not what you meant to write.”

“Yes, crap! Very delicious!”

I considered this. “Do you by chance mean ‘carp’?”

“No!” she laughed. “Crap!” She splayed her hands and mimicked the scuttling movement of a crustacean.

“Oh, you mean crab. C-R-A-B. Not C-R-A-P.”

“Yes!” she said, handing the menu back to me. “Crab. Both sound same to me.”

Then, almost as an afterthought, she asked: “What means ‘crap?’”

This was not the first time I’d chanced into such an awkwardly comical situation in Thailand. The local supermarket did fast trade in a brand of toilet paper called “Sit and Smile,” and a toy vendor along the main street sold packs of tiny plastic animals that came with a sober warning for parents: “BE CAREFUL OF BEING EATEN BY SMALL CHILDREN.”

To be sure, Thailand holds no monopoly on poorly translated English. Some years ago, a series of forwarded e-mails made the rounds, describing bizarre signs posted in Kenyan restaurants (“Customers who find our waitresses rude ought to see the manager”), Norwegian cocktail lounges (“Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar”), and Russian monasteries (“You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian artists and writers are buried daily except Thursday”). A similar round of e-mails celebrated the linguistic gaffes that resulted when American corporations introduced new slogans into foreign markets. In Mexico, for example, “Got Milk?” translated into the decidedly un-hip slogan, “Are You Lactating?”

No doubt this tradition of global mistranslation goes back to the days when Greek and Roman tourists frequented the sights of Anatolia and Egypt (one can imagine shaky Latin letters scrawled onto papyrus outside an Alexandria dry-cleaner: “Let us put happiness in your toga!”), but the modern practice of publicly butchering English can be traced back to the American occupation of post-war Japan in the ’40s and ’50s. There, amidst the sudden rush to emulate all things Western, G.I.s were able to buy tubes of “Snot” brand toothpaste, and to this day Japan still leads the world in mistranslated English (see http://www.engrish.com/ for a splendid collection).

Other societies are rapidly catching up to the Japanese example; however, mainly in proportion to how fast they modernize. Korea, where I lived for two years as an English teacher in the late ’90s (“Praise the Load!” read posters for my school’s Bible club), boasts a fine tradition of mangling the English language.

If there is a growth market in dodgy English, however, look no further than China, where one billion increasingly globalize citizens have begun translating area signage into English in anticipation of the 2008 Olympics. Brian Baker, a fellow Kansas émigré who spent a year teaching English in China, once found the following tourist information posted in a Wuhan statue park:

1. The tourists must care for the statues; consciously avoid carving, writing, climbing, and dandification. Trying to be a civilized citizen.
2. The tourists climbing the statues must be fined from 5-50 yuan.
3. The tourists carving or scratching the statues must be fined from 50-500 yuan.
4. The tourists making a breakage for the statues’ instruments must be fined 1,000-5,000 yuan.
5. The tourists making a breakage for the second half of the statue must be fined 2,000-8,000 yuan.
6. The tourists making a breakage for the first half of the statue (without the face) must be charged 3,000-10,000 yuan.

One can imagine tourists sizing up such vandalism options with the kind of anticipation usually reserved for fine wine lists (“Ooh look, honey, let’s make a breakage for the statues’ instruments — it’s totally within our price range!”).

Brian’s most vivid experience with Chinese English, however, came in a provincial grocery store. “There,” he reports, “between the natural powdered jellyfish and the yak ham, I saw what looked, to my hungry eyes, to be a package of sliced turkey. Imagine my surprise when, upon closer inspection, the label clearly read: CHOICE AROMATIC LION BUTT. I still can’t imagine what Chinese-English dictionary yielded that monstrosity of translation.”

The potential flipside to all this, of course, lies in the recent Western vogue for Chinese characters on clothing and skin art. As a case in point, I once bought a t-shirt that, according to the vendor, featured the Chinese symbol for “Lucky.” It wasn’t until months later that a Hong Kong friend informed me that it wasn’t even close to “Lucky” — that it really meant “Super.” Had it read “Dork,” or “Kick Me,” I would have been none the wiser. Similarly, all the hipsters who went out and got Chinese ideogram tattoos over the past decade could be in for a nasty surprise if they ever travel to China. After all, a “Crouching Tiger” buttock tattoo purchased in good faith in Seattle might eventually be revealed as provincial slang for “Impotent,” and a Melbourne tattoo artist who designs stylized “Freedom” ideograms might accidentally miss a stroke and send his clients off with a symbol that means, say, “Adult Diapers.”

Beneath the dangers of dabbling in other languages, of course, lies an optimistic truth: that, regardless of syntactic differences, the basic human meanings behind our languages remain the same. After all, “Sit and Smile” is indeed a desirable activity after having used toilet paper and even the most diabolical of restaurateurs wouldn’t literally serve you fried rice with crap.

To be on the safe side, however, I think I’ll stick to the red curry and tom yam.

———-

This essay was excerpted from Travellers’ Tales: What Colour is Your Jock Strap? Funny n and Women Write from the Road, which debuted in bookstores last month.

It’s the brand new year! 2007, starts fresh and smells good too! And, today’s the New Year for the Japanese. Saw lots of my sister’s colleagues and herself went on to celebrate the brand new year of the Japanese. It’s just the same as our Lunar New Year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO OUR JAPANESE FRIEND!

Aikio, Happy New Year to you! Hope I have the time to fly over to Kobe to visit you sometime! Say hi to your parents and brother for me!

In ancient times, the Japanese New Year (正月, shōgatsu) was based on the same Chinese calendar as the Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese New Year (at the beginning of spring). Since 1873, Japan has followed the same months as the Gregorian calendar, so January 1st is the official New Year’s Day for Japan. It is one of the most important festivals of the whole year. The Japanese New Year is a traditional festival which has been celebrated for centuries and has its own unique customs.

Japanese people eat a special selection of dishes on New Year’s Day called osechi. A popular soup is ozōni, having mochi (glutinous rice dumplings) and vegetables. Also popular are tuna fish wrapped in sweetly boiled kelp (kobumaki), kamaboko (a food prepared from fish paste), kurikinton (mashed sweet potato with chestnut) and kuromame (sweetened black beans). Many of these dishes are sweet or sour because they kept better — the traditions date to a time, before households had refrigerators, when most stores closed for the holidays. There are many variations of osechi, and some foods eaten in one place are never eaten in other places (or are even banned) on New Year’s Day. Today, sashimi and sushi are often eaten, as well as non-Japanese foods. To let the overworked stomach rest, nanakusa gayu (seven vegetable rice soups) is prepared on the 7th or 15th day. The special food prepared for New Year’s Day is a joy for many Japanese.

The Japanese have a custom of sending New Year’s Day postcards (年賀状, nengajō) to their friends and relatives. It is similar to the custom of sending Christmas cards. Instead of sending Christmas cards, Japanese people send these postcards so that they arrive on the 1st of January. The post office guarantees to deliver the greeting postcards on the first of January if they are marked with the words nengajo and are posted within a time limit, from mid-December to near the end of the month. In order to send these cards on time, the post office usually hires students part-time to help deliver the letters. The end of December and the beginning of January are the busiest times for the Japanese post office.

It is customary not to send postcards when one has had a death in the family during the year. In this case, a simple postcard is sent instead to inform friends and relatives that they should not send joyful New Year’s cards, in order to show respect for the dead in Japan.

Although these New Year’s cards have become a widely-observed custom, their original purpose was to give your faraway friends and relative’s tidings of yourself and your immediate family. In a manner of speaking, this custom exists for people to tell others whom they do not often meet that they are alive and well.

Most of the postcards have the Chinese zodiac sign of the New Year as their design. This has a cycle of 12 years. Each year is represented by an animal. The animals are, in order: mouse, cow, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and boar. The year 2006 was the dog, and 2007 will be the boar.

People get their nengajoo from many sources. Stationers sell pre-printed cards. Many of these have conventional greetings or the animal of the year (or both). For 2006, famous dogs like Snoopy and other cartoon characters were especially popular. They may have spaces for the sender to write a personal message. Blank cards are available, and people can hand-write or draw their own. Rubber stamps with conventional messages and with the annual animal are on sale at department stores and other outlets, and many people buy fountain brushes for personal greetings. Special printing devices are popular, especially among people who practice crafts. Software also lets artists create their own designs and output them using their computer’s colour printer. Because a gregarious individual might have hundreds to write, print shops offer a wide variety of sample postcards with short messages so that the sender has only to write addresses. Even with the rise in popularity of email, the nengajoo remains very popular in Japan.

Typical nengajō greetings include:

Kotoshi mo yoroshiku o-negai-shimasu – 今年もよろしくお願いします – I hope for your favour in the coming year.

Akemashite o-medetō-gozaimasu – あけましておめでとうございます – New Year’s congratulations

Kinga shinnen – 謹賀新年 – Happy New Year

Shoshun – 初春 – literally “early spring”

On New Year’s Day, Japanese people have a custom of giving pocket money to children. This is known as otoshidama (お年玉), which is a custom from China. It is handed out in small decorated envelopes called ‘pochibukuro’, descendants of the Chinese red packet. In the Edo period, large stores and wealthy families gave out a small bag of mochi and a Mandarin orange to spread happiness all around. The amount of money given depends on the age of the child but is usually the same if there is more than one child so that no one feels slighted.

Another custom of the Japanese is creating rice cakes. Boiled mochigome (sticky rice) is put in to a wooden shallow bucket-like container and patted with water by one person while another person hits it with a large wooden hammer. By mashing the rice, it gets sticky and forms a sticky white dumpling. This is made before New Year’s Day and eaten during the beginning of January.

Mochi is also made into a New Year’s decoration called kagami mochi, formed from two round cakes of mochi with a daidai (bitter orange) placed on top. The name of the daidai is supposed to be auspicious since it means “several generations”.

Below are the types of New Year food that in Japanese culture observe and have

To Japanese, grilled red sea beam means for good luck, a must have dish for their New Year

Kagamimochi for good luck

Zoni, rice cake cooked in soup

Sake pot and cups, an item that the Japanese have during their New Year. And I believe the head of the household have the honour to pour sake for the other members of the house.

   Japanese New Year dishes they have.  Looks good right!