A chocolate-brown poodle in Pingtung named Chang Hsiao-wo who loves to sing has fallen in love with the garbage truck tune, The Maiden’s Prayer. As soon as she hears the melody, she’ll start singing with abandon and charming onlookers. She already has a group of loyal fans who will come to hear her sing.
Digital media student Chang Kai-juo has loved dogs since she was a kid, and three months ago her father brought home a three-month old poodle. Chang named it Hsiao-wo — little snail — in the hope that it would be as calm and quiet as a snail. Unexpectedly, Hsiao-wo was both considerate and understanding of the ways of humans. She only pees on the newspapers put out for her, and she’ll shake paws and sit when told to do so. She will go to sleep on the pillow together with her mistress, and then she’ll sleep with all four legs pointing to the ceiling and showing the whites of her eyes. When her mistress puts on her makeup, she knows she will soon be taken for a walk, and she’ll sit in a coffee shop for five hours without complaining.
Chang likes music, and her room is always filled with different genres of music from classical to blues, rock and modern music, so Hsiao-wo is growing up listening to music. About a month ago, when Chang was carrying Hsiao-wo on her bicycle, they happened upon the garbage truck and Hsiao-wo unexpectedly began to bark along with the music. Her barking, which was sometimes loud and sometimes more subdued, caused an embarrassed Chang to cover Hsiao-wo’s mouth and quickly sneak away. After her escape, she ran into another garbage truck, and Hsiao-wo once again started singing to her heart’s content.
To test whether or not Hsiao-wo really understood music, Chang played a mix of different kinds of music including the song Sorry, Sorry, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, and a piano version of The Maiden’s Prayer. At first Hsiao-wo lay on the bed without moving, but as soon as she heard The Maiden’s Prayer, she started barking along and looked quite funny. Every time she repeated the test, the result was the same.
A jealous Chang said that these days many of her friends that come over are not looking for her but have been taken in by Hsiao-wo’s performance. She’ll put on a performance at least once a day and is winning an increasing number of fans. Chang’s friends now like to call Hsiao-wo the Singing Dog.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Perry Svensson)
屏東有隻褐紅色貴賓狗「張小蝸」愛唱歌，獨鍾情垃圾車播放的「少女的祈禱」，只要聽到音樂立刻開唱，忘我的表情引人愛憐，已有忠實粉絲專程去聽牠唱歌。
念數位媒體的張楷若從小就愛狗，三個多月前父親從朋友那裡抱回三個月大貴賓狗，張楷若替牠取名「小蝸」，希望牠像隻蝸牛般穩靜，沒想到小蝸不僅體貼又懂人性，如廁一定尿在鋪好的報紙，尿尿時會站三七步，還能聽指令握手或坐下；趁主人入睡後會躺到枕頭共枕眠，睡覺時四腳朝天還翻白眼；看到主人化妝就知道等會要出門，就連到咖啡廳用餐，待上五小時也不會吵鬧。
喜歡音樂的張楷若，房間無時無刻播放音樂，從古典到現代，從藍調到搖滾，小蝸從小聽著音樂長大，沒想到約近一個月前，張楷若騎單車帶小蝸逛街，正好遇上垃圾車，小蝸亢奮應和音樂狂叫，聲音有高有低，讓她窘得摀住狗嘴快閃，逃離現場後，沒想到又在另一個路口遇到垃圾車，小蝸依然興奮的唱個不停。
為測試小蝸是否真的懂音樂，張楷若節錄一段混搭sorry sorry、命運交響曲、鋼琴版「少女的祈禱」等各種不同樂風的樂曲，測試一下小蝸，原本趴在床上的小蝸聽到其他音樂動都不會動，唯獨聽到少女的祈禱時，立刻跟著吠唱，表情逗趣，而且屢試不爽。
張楷若吃味的說，許多朋友現在都不是來找她，而是迷上小蝸專程來看表演，每天至少表演一次，粉絲越來越多，被朋友們戲稱為「狗歌星」。
（自由時報記者侯千絹）
Taiwan on Sunday beat Australia 11-3 to advance to the 2024 WBSC Premier12 Super Round, finishing second in Group B to secure a place in the Premier12’s Super Round alongside group winners Japan, as well as the top two teams from Group A, the United States and Venezuela. The 2024 WBSC Premier12 is being co-hosted by Mexico, Taiwan and Japan from Nov. 9 through Nov. 24, featuring the 12 highest-ranked national baseball teams in the world, based on the ranking system of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), baseball’s world governing body, as of the end of 2023. What’s the difference between
A: Who are nominated for Best Leading Actor at the Golden Horse Awards? B: The nominees are: Jason King, Chang Chen, Neo Yau, Wanlop Rungkumjad and Zhang Zhiyong. A: How about Best Leading Actress? B: The nominees are: Patra Au, Kimi Hsia, Chung Suet-ying, Sylvia Chang and Sandra Ng. A: What are your predictions for the winners this year? A: 本屆金馬獎入圍最佳男主角的有誰啊？ B: 入圍的有：喜翔、張震、游學修、Wanlop Rungkumjad、張志勇。 A: 入圍最佳女主角的呢？ B: 入圍的有：區嘉雯、夏于喬、鍾雪瑩、張艾嘉、吳君如。 A: 今年你預測誰會得獎？ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
In Cape Town, South Africa, a fresh influx of inhabitants is causing a stir. Known as “digital nomads,” these individuals are transforming the city’s environment and sparking debates around urban growth and the welfare of local communities. By definition, digital nomads are professionals who exploit advanced technology to facilitate remote work while embracing a nomadic lifestyle — all without disrupting their careers. Frequently moving between locations, these nomads primarily work in sectors such as technology, creative industries and consultancy, which are particularly conducive to remote operations. This working trend has grown in popularity following the COVID-19 pandemic, with an increasing number
A: And which films are nominated for the Golden Horse Awards’ Best Narrative Feature? B: The nominees are: “All Shall Be Well,” ”Stranger Eyes,” “Dead Talents Society,” “An Unfinished Film” and “Bel Ami.” A: I heard that “Bel Ami” is a great gay-themed comedy from China. B: Yeah, and as many as 276 Chinese movies registered for the competition this year. A: The two sides of the Taiwan Strait have finally resumed exchanges in cinematography. A: 本屆金馬獎入圍最佳劇情片的有哪些？ B: 入圍的有：《從今以後》、《默視錄》、《鬼才之道》、《一部未完成的電影》、《漂亮朋友》。 A: 聽說《漂亮朋友》是一部精彩的中國同志喜劇片。 B: 今年光是中國就有多達276部電影參賽。 A: 海峽兩岸終於恢復電影交流啦！ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
RSS