Rebirth

The year comes to an end. It is not an impending demise of anything if Palestinians' lives matter not and are discounted. The end begets a new beginning as well. There were no opulent parties. Life is mundane and humdrum for an old hack. Excitement costs life, or at least an intimidation to lose one's liberty. As a blogger, I no longer express my views in a candid lexicon. Criticism is watered down, and a point is made obliquely. Criticism can fall prey to a bounty of a million dollars, with global extra-territorial jurisdiction in force. The other day, I read by accident a disclaimer in Mingpao, a newspaper I seldom read more than the titles these days. It says,

"本網發表的時事文章若提出批評，旨在指出相關制度、政策或措施存在錯誤或缺點，目的是促使矯正或消除這些錯誤或缺點，循合法途徑予以改善，絕無意圖煽動他人對政府或其他社群產生憎恨、不滿或敵意。"

Heck! WTF. The F word here, though spelt with resemblance semantically to another commonly used 4-letter word, I only mean to say "Fuss". In the fearmongering era, one either has a tight-lipped mouth or a double-minded consciousness, obliviate to the drastic collapse of a precious system. Fake loyalty survives a tempest time. Just eat the eat and shit the shit.

I have never been an astute blogger. I never learned how to idolize, worship, bootlick ... I was never trained to be sycophantic. That must be a failure in life and survival skills. Yet, we should treasure what we have and when the time has come to sever, just do it without turning your head.

Maybe I have shifted gears. My self-conceited satisfaction these days came from my gastronomic expeditions. For the Christmas party with my cronies, I produced these 2 dishes,

Deep-fried Prawn Balls

Fried Duck Breast (grapefruit paste and orange zest) 

Nothing exotic. They were just palatable. Good plating can enhance the culinary delights and appetising vibes.

I have also improved my bakery skills. This is the 5th cheesecake I have made. This time a mango one.

I still need a lot of practice on how to titivate the topping of a cake, a facade to mask any failure.

Happy New Year. Let's hope it is not as deadly.