World Class Tennis Promotion in Toronto

http://www.thestar.com/sports/tennis/article/682417
Torontonians know how to have fun in tennis, the WTA tournament is on now this week (2009/8/15 to 8/23)

( Please click the 'Play' button shown on the top image for video.)

Egypt -- Cairo

(---posted by Vi 黃有為 on Aug 14, '09 )

We came here the next morning. Can't wait to take the world most recogniszable icon. Haziness was the heat.

After 3 nights and 3 and a half days in Dubai, we were on a plane to Cairo. The flight was 3pm in the afternoon but the driver insisted in picking us up from the hotel at 11:30am. It was about 20 minutes drive to the airport but "You have to be there 3 hours in advance!" so a day was wasted! We missed out on the indoor skiing field in Emirate Mall! (The malls open at 10am and close at midnight -- talking about long trading hours.) I think the driver/tour leader was pretty happy to get rid of us!! We had problem with the meals arrangement from day one. When the tour was booked, we've paid for 3 meals per day for the whole trip. On the way to the hotel from airport, we found out that his order was different from the one we were given by our travel agent. Almost every day we had to argue about whether meals for that day were covered! All was good at the end.
Back to Egypt, we arrived at Cairo late afternoon. They really took Swine Flu seriously, everyone was held up at arrival to fill in a "follow up" card (why couldn't they hand out the card during the flight so that people could fill them out and just handed back as they walked pass -- I have not idea!) Then a woman worn white lab coat and full face mask stood behind a IR camera waved through the long line of passengers one by one to measure their body temperature. Luckily we were all cleared (Aaron and mum in-laws were still coughing!) One thing stood out was: there were military personnel with machine guns everywhere.
Coming out of the airport, there was a sense of deja vu -- Egypt was like Vietnam! The local swarmed you offering transportation, accommodation...then the streets were narrow, houses was 2 -3 stories high and built wall to wall, street stalls and traffic. The first thing the tour guide said to us was: "In Egypt the traffic law is no laws." Lan joked to her mum said she would feel right at home. Our first dinner at Cairo was Chinese meal! If you have joined a tour to China, you should know: What soup do they serve you? Tomato and egg soup. Well, as it turned the set menu was same where you were in China or Egypt for that matter in Paris or Roma!! The hotel we stayed was all right but you have to pay to use the spa! (Gym was complimentary.)
The main attractions of Cairo are Giza Pyramids, Egyptian museum, Citadel and River Nile cruise. No photograph was allowed in the Museum and we didn't visit the Citadel.

Wondering how our World will be when we turn 80?

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2008-063
NASA & space rocks astronomers are keeping a close eye on a much-talked about asteroid, Apophis, which is 210-330 meter (690-1080 feet) in diameter and has a one-in-43,000 chance of hitting Earth in 2036, 2037 or 2069, and that is a great chance in Astronomical term.

(NASA Web site for near-Earth objects : http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch )
(News source: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090812/science/science_us_sci_killer_asteroids )

活生生的繪畫 - Ксения Симонова - Реквием из песка - 安魂曲和沙

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1JZ9O15280&feature=related
烏克蘭的才女用手指和沙描述出第二次世界大戰的往事，一幅感人的活動圖畫。