Articles by Doug Nienhuis
I am a Canadian, and I am currently traveling through Asia with a touring bicycle. These are stories and pictures from my trip.
Jiping Zhao – Film Score Concert at Zhongshan Hall
Zhao Jiping is one of the best-known composers in China. Among his work are the film scores for several famous movies, such as Raise the Red Lantern and Farewell My Concubine. He’s known for his ability to combine traditional Chinese instruments and music with conventional western orchestral styles. On Saturday night, the Taipei City Chinese Orchestra performed some of his most famous pieces in a …
“Political Mother” at the National Theater in Taipei
Quite a few weeks ago, I treated myself to a ticket for a performance at the National Theater here in Taipei. I stuck the ticket to my refrigerator with a magnet and then sort of forgot about it. I knew I had the ticket and I had plans to go, but I didn’t remember much about what had jumped out at me about the performance. …
Newly Opened Xinzhuang MRT Line
A new MRT line opened up recently in Taipei. According to the brochure from Taipei Metro that I picked up, it is called the Xinzhuang Line. It’s orange in color on the MRT maps and currently has 13 stops. It starts at Zhongxiao Station on the blue line and ends at Fu Jen University. According to the map, it will be extended to at least …
Australian “Wonderland” at MOCA
The streak of rainy weather is continuing in Taipei, so I figured it was a good time to drop in on a couple of museums. MOCA, the Museum of Contemporary Art, is right around the corner from where I live, so I headed there first.
I really like MOCA. The exhibits are always interesting and the art is spread out over two floors in a series …
What Is Facebook’s Timeline and How Does It Work?
Timeline is what Facebook is calling the new design and layout of the Facebook profile page. It’s a bit of a confusing name because, in fact, Timeline only refers to one new feature on your Profile page – a long chronological and editable list of all your Facebook activity. This Timeline feature essentially replaces the Wall. To keep things straight, I will be referring to …
What’s the deal with Facebook’s Timeline?
Before yesterday, I was barely even aware of Facebook Timeline. All I knew was that a couple of my Facebook friends suddenly had strikingly different Profile pages, and, at first glance, I hated them. I found their Profile pages confusing and cluttered and not very intuitive. I didn’t really know what I was looking at. The double column in the middle with staggered content particularly …
TaipeiEYE – Picking Up the Jade Bracelet
The man at center stage was wearing a very colorful and elaborate costume. He stood there for a moment and then slowly raised one leg and pointed his foot at the audience like it was a kind of weapon. On his foot was a shoe with a three- or four-inch-thick white wooden platform. He grabbed his foot with one hand, twisted it to the side …
Sherlock Holmes & Ferries to China
Not much of interest happened this past week. I passed some time reading two Sherlock Holmes novels. I read A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of the Four. As far as I know, A Study in Scarlet was the first story that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about Sherlock Holmes. I found it interesting partially because I could contrast it with the first episode of …