Black Swan Event?

Earlier this month, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition was just announced. A photo with two mice fighting over a scrap of food under the subway (Source: BBC). 

Sam Rowley spent five nights flat on the platform trying to get his picture (Source: BBC)

Moreover, due to fears over coronavirus and its impacts on the economy, on 24 Feb, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1031.61 points, while the S&P 500 was off 3.4%. Such the financial crisis has been tagged as ‘Black Swan’ in social media to describe an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and bring about potentially severe consequences.

Are these animals really connected to negative things? Fair enough, some artists have made these ‘bad guys’ become more adorable. Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse which is very popular among all ages of people. So do American comic books and Hollywood movies; they made efforts to contribute to a positive image of the Batman-a superhero living in a city.

(Source: screenrant.com)

I follow Leonardo DiCaprio Instagram not because of his hot movie but because of his role as U.N. Messenger of Peace. He often calls for people's love and respect for natural resources and cherish what we have now, reminding that we need to pay our concerns to the danger of extinctions among specific animals which were suffering from climate change, the California wildfires and the lately Australia fires.

Last Saturday, I went out in very chilly weather to take some wildlife photographs. After one-day observations and taking photos, I then realized different animals have their different living behaviors, including the timing of seeking food, the preference of group gathering, and the destination choice of making a nest. This brought me about more understanding of the natural and appreciated all the beauty of the wildlife surrounding us.

To keep a good distance from animals and to avoid additional disturbance, a camera long-focus lens is needed. The lens of my camera is not long enough, and my photography skills still need to get improved; nevertheless, my love for natural wildlife has definitely leveled up. 

關黑天鵝什麼事啊?

本月初，年度野生動物攝影師比賽剛剛宣布。獲獎的圖片是兩隻老鼠在地鐵下爭奪食物殘渣。

再來, 由於擔心冠狀病毒及其對經濟的影響，2月24日，道瓊斯工業平均指數下跌1031.61點，而標準普爾500指數下跌3.4％。此類金融危機在社交媒體上已被標記為“黑天鵝”，用以描述超出正常情況預期的不可預測事件，並可能帶來嚴重後果。

這些動物真的都跟壞事物相關連嗎？還好夠公平，一些藝術家使這些“壞蛋”變得更加可愛。華德迪斯尼（Walt Disney）創造了米老鼠（Mickey Mouse），該老鼠在所有年齡層的人中,都非常受歡迎。美國漫畫書和好萊塢電影也是如此。他們努力為塑造蝙蝠俠-這個居住在城市中的超級英雄的正面形像做出貢獻。

  

我關注林奧納多（Leonardo DiCaprio）的Instagram不是因為他的熱門電影，而是因為他擔任聯合國和平使者。他常呼籲人們對自然資源的熱愛和尊重，珍惜我們現在擁有的東西，提醒我們需要對遭受氣候變化，加利福尼亞州野火和最近澳大利亞大火的特定動物滅絕的危險表示關注。

上週六，我在非常寒冷的天氣中出去拍攝一些野生動物照片。經過一天的觀察和拍照後，我才意識到不同的動物有不同的生活行為，包括覓食的時間，集體聚會的偏好以及築巢的目的地。這使我對自然有了更多的了解，並欣賞了我們周圍野生動植物的所有美麗。

為了與動物保持良好距離並避免其他干擾，需要使用相機長焦鏡頭。我的相機鏡頭不夠長，我的攝影技巧仍需要提高，不過，我對自然野生動物的熱愛肯定已經升級。

Bats: the Scapegoat for Coronavirus?

31 January 2020 marked two significant news on the BBC with attention-grabbing headlines First, it was the ‘Brexit Day’ to start Britain’s departure from the European Union at 11pm on Friday. Brexit (British exit) is the decision made by a public vote (known as a referendum) held in June 2016. Yes, the UK has left the EU and has been undergoing its transfer after Brexit Day.

Another stunning news acted as a threat to human beings suddenly popped up in the UK without any warning and not expected to be ended soon outside the UK. That is, ' ‘Wuhan Coronavirus’, which was first identified in Wuhan, China where is still the centre of the outbreak. Later, WHO renamed it ‘2019-n CoV acute respiratory disease’ (COVID-19) on 30 January 2020. Cases outside China have grown in more than 27 countries and it raised the fear of a global endemic. So far, the virus replicates like the influenza virus, which makes it more contagious than initially suspected.

As COVID-19 is spreading many countries, causing a similar impact as a severe wave of influenza, its danger sounds like the plot of the movie Contagion. I think I should write it into my blog as the first two cases of Coronavirus disease that confirmed in the UK happened at York where I live (click to read more): a Chinese student and her mother who came to visit her from China. Luckily, except for them, no one else got this disease at York. And all the inflected cases (up to 9 now) in the UK have recovered and left the hospital. Such a good treatment and recovery record is far too better than other countries. 

Taiwan is also suffering from this threat

Why did it happen? There has been speculation, saying that this Sars-like virus could be related to ‘bat bug’ because the Wuhan market sold wildlife including bats. I wish it was not the truth as I do believe every creature has its reason to born in the world, while human beings should not enter the bat’s biological chain.

A trafficked pangolin in Kuala Lumpur is also a suspect in the outbreak (Source: BBC)

Mother Nature has embraced animals and human beings for thousands of years ago. What I believe is that people are part of nature; everything we have comes from it and everything we do has an impact on it. The key to balance the relationship of interdependence lies in: we make spaces for ourselves while leaving some spaces for others, not only for making life better for wildlife, but also for showing respect and sustainable love for the earth.

(Source: https://publichealth.wustl.edu/contagion-back-to-the-past/)

Read more: Coronavirus: The race to find the source in wildlife

蝙蝠成了冠狀病毒的代罪羔羊?

2020年1月31日BBC以引人注目的頭條新聞標誌著兩個重要新聞

首先，這是“英國脫歐日”，是英國在星期五晚上11點開始離開歐盟的日子。 英國脫歐是2016年6月舉行的公開投票（稱為全民公決）做出的決定。是的，英國已離開歐盟，並在英國脫歐日後已在歷經它的轉換期間。

另一個令人震驚的新聞對人類構成威脅，突然在英國突然彈出，沒有任何警告，而且預計不會很快在英國以外結束。 那就是“武漢肺炎”，它首先在中國武漢被發現，現在仍然是爆發的中心。 世衛組織於2020年1月30日將其重命名為“ 2019-nCoV急性呼吸道疾病”（COVID-19）。中國境外的病例有所增加，並引發了對全球流行病的擔憂。

由於COVID-19已在世界範圍內傳播，造成了與嚴重的流感流行類似的影響，因此其危險性聽起來像電影《傳染病》的情節。 我想我應該把它寫到我的部落格上，因為在英國確認的首兩例冠狀病毒疾病發生在約克：一名中國學生和她的母親從中國來探望她。 幸運的是，除了他們之外，沒有人在約克感染這種疾病。 英國的所有感染病例（目前多達9例）都已經康復並離開了醫院。 如此好的治療和康復記錄遠遠超過其他國家。

為什麼會發生？ 有人猜測，這種類似Sars的病毒可能與“蝙蝠病毒”有關，因為武漢市場出售的野生動物包括蝙蝠。我希望這不是事實，因為我確實相信每個生物都有其出生於世界的理由，而人類不應該進入蝙蝠的生物鏈。

大自然母親已經擁抱動物和人類數千年了。 我相信人是自然的一部分。 我們擁有的一切都來自它，我們所做的一切都會對其產生影響。 平衡相互依存關係的關鍵在於：我們為自己創造空間，而為其他人留下一些空間，這不僅是為了使野生生物的生活變得更好，而且是為了表達對地球的尊重和永續的愛。

2020 Winter escape: 'Game of Thrones' in Malta

48 Hours in Malta for 'Game of Thrones' 

After visiting a lot of ancient monuments in Italy, my two days in Malta focused on natural beauty, especially the filming locations of ‘Games of Thrones’: The Blue Hole. 

As I arrived in Malta in the late evening, I chose a restaurant with good reviews on Google Maps to treat myself—Acqua Marina Restaurant in Bugibba—nearby the guesthouse I lived in. In this Mediterranean island nation, fish cuisine is one of the best options when you want a meal; if drinking, ordering Cisk beer as it is the most famous in the local market.

Being a Taiwanese, I am very familiar with tuna cuisine because it is a delicious snack in Tainan city; however, the tuna dinner in Malta went beyond my expectations with its different style and rich herbal tastes. It was so good that I went to the restaurant again the next night to try another fish dish. The fish was so fresh and tender, and it was awesome that many restaurants opened until 10 pm. As I read from the website, Malta is famous for its nightlife; however, I am not so interested in pub fun. I cannot wait to get up earlier to explore the amazing coastlines.

Malta is composed of five islands, but only three islands currently have human activities: Malta, Comino and Gozo. My next-day mission is to explore all three islands. Could it be possible for me in one day? Yes! I made it!

Popeye Village

Mellieha Bay

Just last year, I watched a series of 'Game of Thrones', which has become one of the most popular television shows of all time. ‘Winter Is Coming’— I was so impressed by its storyline full of sex, violence, power, complexity and dark sides of human beings. As such, there is no doubt that the shooting scenery must be magnificent enough to deploy these stunning plots.

My one-day trip from Malta-Comino-Gozo was successful by the public transport bus, connection boats, and return ferry. 🚃⛴⛵

The two-way connection boat (13 euros/per person in a day) took visitors to sail around the most beautiful coastline in Comino: 'Blue Lagoon'; and then I hopped off on this island to have a rock hiking a bird's-eye view of the beautiful capes.

After a short stay on this island, I hopped on the connection boat again to go to my next destination: Gozo. Blue Hole is the main purpose of visiting this island, where houses the location of Khal Drogo and Daenerys Targaryen's wedding in Game of Thrones, to say it precisely, Azure Window, Dwejra.

I arrived there around 3:30 pm to 5pm, it enabled me to catch up all the process of sunsetting around the Blue Hole corner. Malta, known as the heart of the Mediterranean, offers an affordable price, warm weather, and fresh seafood in the winter for tourists. The seawater in all these islands are so crystal and are shining blue on the sea, making my winter escape end up with full satisfaction and unforgettable pretty memories.

   

  

2020年冬季避寒之旅：馬爾他48小時

在參觀了義大利的許多古蹟之後，我在馬爾他的兩天主要聚焦在自然美景，尤其是《權力的遊戲》的拍攝場址。

當我傍晚到達馬爾他時，我選擇了一家在Google地圖上獲得好評的餐廳來好好款待自己-Bugibba的Acqua Marina餐廳-在我所住的旅館附近。在這個地中海島嶼國家中，當您想用餐時，魚肉是最好的選擇之一，然後可以喝Cisk啤酒因為它是當地市場上最著名的。

作為台灣人，我對金槍魚[𩵚魠魚]非常熟悉，因為它是台南市的美味小吃。不過，馬爾他的金槍魚晚餐卻因其不同的風格和濃郁的香草味道而超越了我的期望。因為好吃，以至於第二天我又去了一次餐廳嘗試另一道魚料理。魚是如此鮮嫩，而且很棒的是許多餐館營業至晚上10點。正如我從網路上看到的那樣，馬爾他以夜生活聞名。但是，我對酒吧娛樂並不那麼感興趣。我迫不及待地想早起，探索令人驚嘆的海岸線。

馬爾他由五個島嶼組成，但目前只有三個島嶼有人類活動：馬爾他，科米諾和戈佐。我的第二天任務是探索所有三個島嶼。在一天之內對我來說可能嗎？是!我做到了！

就在去年，我看了一系列的《權力的遊戲》，這已經成為有史以來最受歡迎的電視節目之一。 “冬天來了”-它的故事情節給人留下了深刻的印象，故事情節充滿了性，暴力，權力，複雜和人類的陰暗面。這樣，毫無疑問地，拍攝場景必須足夠壯麗才能註釋出這些令人驚嘆的情節。

我從馬爾他-科米諾-戈佐出發的一日遊是透過公車，連接船和往返渡輪而辦到的。雙向遊船（每人每天13歐元）會帶遊客繞著科米諾最美麗的海岸線:“藍色潟湖” 航行；然後我跳下這個小島去岩石健行，鳥瞰美麗的海角。

在這個島上短暫停留後，我再次跳上連接船前往我的下一個目的地：戈佐。藍洞（Blue Hole）是參觀這座島嶼的主要目的，該島是《權力的遊戲》中Khal Drogo和Daenerys Targaryen婚禮的所在地，確切地說是Dwejra的Azure Window。

我大約在下午3:30到下午5點到達那裡，這使我能夠在藍洞拐角處補捉所有落日的過程。馬爾他被譽為地中海的心臟，冬季為遊客提供價格合理的價格，溫暖的天氣和新鮮的海鮮，所有這些島嶼的海水是如此的晶瑩剔透，並在蔚藍的大海上照耀著，使我的冬季避寒之旅最終充滿了滿足感和美好的回憶。