Some year end review

 A few more days to go will end the year of 2022, usually it’s the best moment for us to review everything, including the content of this blog. 

We always wish we could concentrate into a specific genre of blog posts, so readers can search the content more easily and the  reading experience of this blog can be more unique & consistent, but unfortunately it‘s not the way we were. In reality, not all things are related to design : beautiful, attractive, creative, impressive…lots & lots of “pebble & stones” could ruin the scene (hopefully not :P).

Sometimes we did want to end this blog and start all over again but when we reconsider deeply, after years of building a whole new blog, the result may still be the same, because this is us,  the life of Cocoa, the implication of design, life of sweet & sour…as we shall say, what a complex but on the other hand fruitful. 

By trial & error, this is the 14 years since the first post was published in Coffeebreak, our former name…time flies. It seems we have to be truthful of what’s going on, but we are thinking of removing “Cocoa Fabric Store” “Cocoa Grocery” and “Bird Talk” ~ another way to simplify our “complicated life”, what do you think?

自由、平等、博愛～ Liberté , Égalité, Fraternité

最近忙著各樣大小事情，花在網誌的時間也相對減少；並非沒有想記下的事，只是太多也太雜亂。戰亂的瘋狂、國家主權無限的宣示、核武的氣燄、移民/難民的浪潮、氣候的危機、疫情的無奈、地球／太空資源的爭奪…；要説的還可以有更多，都是你我熟悉而非新鮮之事，也是全球在同步發生中，不管你是什麼1，2，3⋯世界。

Liberté ~ 自由。是每個人都擁有的基本權利，如果各自運用得宜，天下太平；要是滲入了自私和霸氣，就在不知不覺間搶奪了他人的一份去成就自己的所謂自由。並非只有掌權的人才有機會妄用自由而誤置人民生死，即使是無權無勢的平民如我，也有可能在高唱“自由之歌”的同時影響到其他人，每當我想到這裏，心中不禁亮起紅燈。但為什麼原本是美善的質素卻可以變得“邪惡”呢？

我想了又想，可以這樣說嗎？原本擁有的自由在不會無故失效的情況之下，我可以適量及自在地享用；但一旦受到衝擊，特別是不平等的衝擊，隨之而來的反應便會很強烈，甚至為了“捍衛”有可能失去的而極力反抗，去到一個連自己過了火的地步也不自覺，腦海中只剩得‘我要...這是我的自由！其他的…我不管了！’

Égalité ~ 平等。或許這就是自由與平等必須共存的其中之一個原因吧！要是世界上所有資源，包括機會也是較為平均分配的，只要每人再為自己的未來努力一點點，便可以安然居住，活在穩定及充足供應之下。但同樣地，要是有人被慾望和貪念所遮蓋，貧富懸殊隨即出現，因為有的想要更多，比基本需要的再多，即使佔據了其他人可得到的一份也在所不計，因為無止境的慾望得不到滿足～這，又何嘗不包含在我們想擁有的“自由”而言呢?！平等：讓每個人也可以有機會活下去、被尊重、被等同，享有生存的自由！

Fraternité ~ 博愛。要是能考慮到其他人，甘願放棄擁有更多，甚至保留比應有的更小，我想，沒可能沒有愛的成份在內。人性大多為自己的一生籌算，包括家人，特別是摯親；但除了在這個圈圈之內，會為著不認識甚至是本土以外的人，在各式各樣的事情上付上心神的…大有人在，也許就在你我的身邊。地球上有很多事情令人憤怒、無奈與歎息，唯有愛能化解一切，把不平衡和失去的挽回。在神人之間如是，在人與人之間也如是。自由、平等、博愛並非不可實現的空談，要是我們每一個肯付出一點點或更多，地球還是有希望的。

Drawing Giggle Girl

Hi. Hi,

I love drawing, painting, illustrating, sketching…whatever you call, it’s always a pleasure to escape the reality for a while and creating anything possible. Sometimes, I doubt whether anyone, especially for those who are talented or well trained in painting as an artist has the struggle using digital apps/ software to draw. I am neither talented nor an artist, I just love to draw but recently, I do have some thoughts about it.

The fact is, both techniques require a learning path and lots of practices which consume time, a lot of time…, for sure if you are serious enough. Although some basic theories may be the same, such as use of colour, layout, lighting, texture (brush stroke)…, etc; and most of the drawing apps can imitate all of these smooth and nicely; there are differences still, in my experience, when I hold a real paint brush vs an apple pen in hand, the control are so different as some of you may aware, too. 

Recently, I did try to use Fresco + iMovie to play with a “giggle girl series” , it’s easy to learn with fun; but I want more after all , then I may have to jump into GarageBand, Final Cut, Premiere, Lightroom….a never ending list in the digital world that could bring more satisfaction to my painting with motion in bonus. Then, how about my watercolour hand drawings ? I am lacking of the third & fourth hand…. :(

Digital drawing allows me to redraw and redraw until satisfy, whereas hand drawing is one off (mostly except oil painting may be a bit more flexible) but this is the exact challenge and goal for me to achieve, which also directly related to the effort of hard work that I’ve paid; a greater joy of satisfaction that I would assume if I draw a good piece one day.

So, what to do?  I have my answer in my mind when I come to the end of this post, but let’s have fun with giggle girl for a minute, why not?

Remember to turn on the speaker, one more for you, enjoy!

Forgotten Chap 02

Come, dramatically  

without a sign 

rejoicing…before thee

Vanish, instantly 
not for another second 
mourning…in front of me

 

Oiseau Distrait 

Autumn 2022 Hong Kong

一年、一年又一年

三年，就這樣進入最後的一季。疫情彷彿騎劫了一切，我們是被動中的無奈，又或是可以把握到意外的停頓，一刻鐘、一天、一個月，甚至三年？因為停頓，把這些時間儲存下來，一分一秒，一共有多少？

要是計算一下，可能足夠你讀一本長篇小說、學會煮十個新菜式、完成一個語文初班、織一件毛衣；又或者調理好忙壞了的身體、重新思考信仰與生命、修補破損了的關係，⋯！

時間天天在流逝，一秒過去了就永遠不能尋回。我很害怕與長嗟短嘆的人相處，他們每歎一口氣，寶貴的一秒就這樣消失了，我想幫忙捉也捉不住…是我沒有同情心嗎？又或是這個歎息狀態實在太長了，年復一年，流失了的時間也許本來可以把現況改善一點點？！

人生總有脆弱的時間，尤其外在因素不能受控的情況之下；但人心郤可以是剛強的，接受了不能受控的景況，在緊有的空間之內一點一滴地重新開始，即使是斷斷續續，要是堅持下去，數年過後，一個（即使是）迷你的成果就在你能夠把握的分秒之內漸漸形成，難道不是一件值得高興的事嗎？

生命的成果無分大小，只要由這一刻可始，如果我有一分鐘的時間被迫停頓，不能做什麼大事，我就...

～唱半首勵志歌，成為我在下一分鐘的動力！

或者～做三下掌上壓，消消肥脂；

或者～發出一個短訊，向一位朋友問安；

或者～讀一篇文章，學一個生字。

又或者，大笑三聲，預備心情，愉快地接待即將到訪的客人；

又或者～向天父禱告，提取力量，勇敢地跨越下一分鐘的困境；

又或者～洗個臉，吃一塊巧克力補充能量，預備服侍即將由醫院回家的親人。

三年之後：你可能是未來的星夢新星、或是一個擁有健美體魄的中年男士、或是一個和朋友建立了緊密聯繫的小伙子、或是一個學富五車的家庭主婦；又或是一個不單自己正向，甚至能扶助他人渡過困境的伯伯...。下一秒就開始吧！勿讓時間悄悄地流逝，願共勉之！

Café de Flore

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Café de Flore has always been famous since 1885, even there was one located in Omotesando in Japan (not sure whether they are from the same organisation). The name came from a sculpture of the goddess of flowers - Flora (Flore in French), and the season of spring in Roman mythology.  

Delicious hot chocolate and elegant Art Deco interior design may be some reasons why people loves to visit Café de Flore, but most of all are due to the attraction by it’s history, a hub where the intelligence gathered around  in the 1920s. Even though we may not know the story of each of them, at least, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso were the well known. 

In my previous blog post introducing the book ‘Left Bank- by Agnés Poirier’ , Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Albert Camus were the names among those that frequently appeared, as what they called French intellectuals who really acted as the icons here.

 Café de Flore was a place for them to hang around, expressing their thoughts, ideas, awareness of the world issues (political & culture) , especially for France & America; or in person (Female & Male, You & I) that matters, then transformed their avant-garde thinking into plays, writings, journals, music, poem…,etc; even though they might not be acceptable in those days. It became a place that dreams could be made, no matter what the reality might be in chaos.

So I put this into the center page of my book, as a symbolic of the belief that any of us can embrace. We can have numerous dream, great or humble, global or for one’s own; provided the motivation is not evil, there is always a path to reach the success, nothing to do with the rocket sciences but keep trying and move on. 

Whether you like to stay in Café de Flore or Les Deux Magots; you are in Hong Kong, France or elsewhere; you are a teenager or old guy, male or female, rich or poor…, dream is no boundary once you act. 

Left Bank & Dream a Little Dream

 

Paris never fails us of her attractions, especially for those who love shopping. Whether the  prosperity impression, luxurious living or the Bohemia life style , what people used to call; are actually a very different scenario of what Paris was experienced & had been transformed after WWII.

While writing this series, I was accidentally found a book “Left Bank - Art, Passion and the Rebirth of Paris 1940-1950” by Agnés Poirier. A book that opens my eyes wide and solve some of the queries inside me during the trip. 

During the WWII, the third republic lead French into a shameful act, allow the occupied of the Nazis without defense, it might prevent major casualties as they originally thought but in fact, not to the Jews here, as mentioned in the book, over 13000 Parisian Jews (one third are children) were sent to death in Poland in 1942 & 80000 Jews were sent from France to concentration camps…this is still an ached in some of the Parisians nowadays. That explains to me why so many Jewish memorial museum were built in Paris. I feel sad, too. 

The intellectuals, how they survived to face the lost of their Jewish friends each day but couldn’t say, would there be any hope to dream for their future? To continue their philosophic expression? Publication? Playwright? Artistic life? simply to live or left?

Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Sylvia Beach, Albert Camus, Ernest Hemingway, Jacques Jaujard, Pablo Picasso, Henri cartier-bressan…some of the characters in the book, the intellectuals who were there…their dreams didn’t vanish but transformed and camouflaged in another way to preserve the seed of hope. What they had been struggling, physically, mentally & emotionally (whether succeeded or failure) left a trace in the Café de Flore, café des Deus Magots, the Louvre and many other places in Paris. 

The huge impact in the field of their specialties & their “third way” are still influencing a lot of us in the modern age.  Café de Flore may be famous of it’s hot cocoa, but in depth, there’s always been the stories behind like Hôtel La Louisiane, the Shakespeare & Co., Le Tabou…that flourished.

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Dream a little Dream is the second last book of Petit Paris Series, my first draft was finished in February 2022, the moment of the 5th wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, should I still bring out this message to my reader? absolutely Yes, without any hesitation! the hope to end this pandemic as same as the hope to end war. If they could survive in their own ways and achieved even more in 10 years, we can, it's not only a dream!