Macau Daily Times | Edition 2215 | 19 Dec 2014

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A nation, a workplace, an ethnicity, a passion, an outsized personality. The people who comprise these things, who fawn or rail against them, are behind Merriam-Webster’s 2014 word of the year: CULTURE. Meanwhile, Robin Williams’ suicide seared into the world’s collective mindset more than anything else this year, based on what people were searching for on Google.

The year of the word

CULTURE ROBIN’S ON OUR MIND

Music: Dark Side of the Mule by Gov't MuleWine: The Czech Enigma

Books: Five by Ursula ArcherMovies: Annie

Food: Spiky sweet sensation

Culture

Culture

Nostalgia

Nostalgia

Nostalgia

Insidious

Insidious

Insidious

Legacy

Legacy

Legacy

Feminism

Feminism

Feminism

Feminism

Je ne sais quoi

Je ne sais quoi

Je ne sais quoi

Innovation

Innovation

Innovation

Surreptitious

Surreptitious

Surreptitious

Sutonomy

Sutonomy

Sutonomy

Sutonomy

Morbidity

MorbidityMorbidity

Morbidity

Morbidity

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X2 PÁTIO DA ILUSÃO illusion

‘Annie’ is A hArd knock, no fun AdAptAtion

DRIVE INLindsey Bahr, AP Film Writer

It’s impossible to talk about “Annie” without admitting

up front when you first expe-rienced John Huston’s 1982 film.For adults at the time, it was a spectacular disaster, thanks in large part to the bizarre direc-tion of Huston. For kids, one of whom was me, it might as well be up there with “The Sound of Music” as a musical classic. This is why kids don’t write movie reviews but it also helps to remind that sometimes it won’t even occur to them that the movie they’re watching is bad.In that way, perhaps this new version of “Annie” is the upda-te we all deserve: a flawed mo-vie that kids will inexplicably take to. But, with such a weal-th of innovative and heartfelt family fare in both the ani-mated and live-action realms, why bother?The best that can be said of this new version is that Will Gluck and company have certainly made the story, and most of the songs, their own. But, asi-

de from originality points, this new “Annie” is a charmless and grossly materialistic bore, especially for now-adults of a certain age who still hold the ‘82 version in high regard.“Annie” has always been a strange beast, with its grand New Deal politics juxtaposed with the tale of a rich savoir taking in a plucky orphan. Here, Annie (Quvenzhané Wallis) is a foster kid living with a handful of pre-teen girls under the lazy supervision of Hannigan (Cameron Diaz) in her Harlem apartment.Diaz, channeling an early Christina Aguilera with her cheap hoop earrings and mes-sily crimped hair, talk-yells at the girls with such an unnatu-ral shrill that it fails at being cruel, comedic, or drunken. This is no Carol Burnett slaps-tick.But nothing actually seems that bad for Annie. She and her foster friends are all clo-thed and fed and attending clean, friendly schools. They even seem to mostly like Han-

-old Annie as a self-assured brat. She is unfazed by autho-rity figures and is the type of kid who will just take the sta-ge at a swanky charity event and burst into song. In this version, Annie also becomes a social media celebrity.She and Foxx share a few sweet moments, but their con-nection mostly comes across as superficial — as does nearly

nigan except when she makes them clean. A hard knock life, indeed.This is not the dire, hopeless situation of a blighted De-pression-era orphanage. Still, Annie wants out and is deter-mined to find the parents she believes exist. Fine, fair.On one of her many solo jaun-ts, she runs into billionaire Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx), an affectless, Bloombergian cell-phone titan in the midst of a mayoral campaign. In Annie, his team (Rose Byrne and Bo-bby Cannavale) sees an oppor-tunity to make the disconnec-ted mogul more relatable to the common voter. All they need is a few press-friendly moments with the cute foster kid from the wrong side of the tracks.We all know the story by now. What starts as a tactic turns real as Stacks realizes he can care for another being. It’s how they get there that’s the problem.Gluck, who made the deligh-tful, self-aware teen come-dy “Easy A,” proves inept at staging and filming the mo-vie’s  musical numbers. There is hardly any choreography to speak of — in one number Byr-ne just sways back and forth as the camera flies overhead

grandiosely as though this was a Busby Berkeley setup — and the singing, across the board, is on-key mediocrity, even though the auto tuning does its best to obscure everyone’s natural sound.Wallis, who displayed preter-natural talent and strength at the tender age of five in “Beas-ts of the Southern Wild,” has been directed to play 11-year

everything in this movie.This “Annie” was supposed to be for a new generation. In the harsh light of 2014, it’s never looked so dated.

“Annie,” a Sony release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture

Association of America “for some mild language and rude

humor.” Running time: 118 minutes.

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BOOK IT'five' by ursulA Archer is intriguing

tTUNESgov't Mule covers pink floyd on new live AlbuM

When you're playing music for 20 years with the caveat that no two shows will

ever be the same, you had better write a lot of music, or cover some great songs. Gov't Mule does both pretty well, most notably during a Halloween concert in Boston back in 2008. For that marathon show, the jam band played some of their own songs, then covered Pink Floyd in the next two sets.The album title is a play on words, obviously referring to Pink Floyd's seminal 1973 album, "Dark Side of the Moon," and while that re-cord is nicely represented here, the 14 songs of varying lengths include an abbreviated version of the "Dark Side" album that goes from "Breathe (in the Air)" to "Money," but it's the more intense versions of "Comfortably Numb," and "One of These Days," and even

Geocaching — the contem-porary treasure hunt in

which a GPS is used to find hidden objects — lends itself to an intriguing melding of a gripping police procedural and an exciting update of the puzzle mystery in Austrian children's book author Ursula

Gov't Mule, "Dark Side of the Mule" (Evil Teen Records)

"Five" (Minotaur), by Ursula Archer

Archer's crime fiction debut.Archer imbues "Five" with an inventive plot, tense suspense and fully realized characters that seem as if they have been around for years. Archer's clever use of geocaching pro-ves that the light puzzle mys-tery can be successfully in-

Quvenzhane Wallis, left, as Annie, and Jamie Foxx as Will Stacks, looking at a card she made for Stacks in a scene from Columbia Pictures' "Annie"

the more obscure, "Fearless" that stand out. And they even play the epic "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" in two 14-minute blocks.The magic with this collection lies in how well it honors the original material, without sounding like a bunch of tired old covers. Thank guitar virtuoso Warren Haynes, and the tight unit behind him for holding their own with Floyd's rich soundscapes. The band stays faithful to the arrangements, with Haynes showing deep respect for David Gilmour's guitar work, though he does oc-casionally go off on some bluesy interludes of his own.Given the fact the band doesn't like to repeat shows, this live recording may be the closest you get to hearing them cover Pink Floyd.

John Carucci, AP

corporated into a hard-boiled novel with aplomb. An insi-der's view of Austria, which is seldom used in U.S. mysteries, adds another welcome dimen-sion to "Five."The murder investigation of a woman, whose feet are ta-ttooed with GPS coordinates, leads detectives Beatrice Kas-pary and her partner, Florin Wenninger, to a box buried by someone involved with geocaching. Amid the trinkets normally left are human re-mains and a note with clues to a second site and another gruesome find. Soon, Beatrice and Florin, who are with the Salzburg State Office of Cri-minal Investigation, are led to more victims with clues hidden in geocache sites. The two cops know the murderer is using them as pawns in a sick game. But they are forced to play along as they try to discover what links the vic-tims, who seem to have been strangers, and stop the killer.Archer cleverly interlocks each puzzle hidden in the notes and clues found by the detectives that lead to a twis-ting, yet believable plot.Beatrice is accused by her su-pervisor of being "jittery and distracted." Well, of course she is. Her ex-husband cons-tantly harangues her about custody of the children, a secret from her past rears during the investigation, and she is being contacted by the killer. Only Florin's interven-tion keeps her on the caseWith American readers' in-creasing interest in internatio-nal crime fiction, "Five" should find a large readership.

Oline H. Cogdill, AP

19.12.2014 fri

Leanne Italie, New York

The word “culture” joins Oxford Dictionaries’ “vape,” a darling of the

e-cigarette movement, and “expo-sure,” declared the year’s winner at Dictionary.com during a time of tragedy and fear due to Ebola.

Merriam-Webster based its pick and nine runners-up on significant increases in lookups this year over last on Merriam-Webster.com, along with notable, often culture-driven — if you will — spikes of concentrated interest.

In the No. 2 spot is “nostalgia,” during a year of big 50th anniver-saries pegged to 1964: the start of the free speech movement, the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the birth of the Ford Mustang and the British Invasion heralded by the landing of the Beatles on U.S. soil for the first time.

Nostalgia was followed by in-sidious, legacy, feminism and a rare multiword phrase that can be looked up in total, in a foreign language at that: the French “je ne sais quoi.”

The Springfield, Massachusetts-based dictionary giant filters out perennial favorites when picking word of the year, but does that formula leave them chasing lan-guage fads?

“We’re simply using the word culture more frequently,” said Peter Sokolowski, editor at large for Merriam-Webster. “It may be a fad. It may not. It may simply be evolution.”

Sokolowski noted that the rea-sons words are looked up aren’t just about not knowing what they mean. Sometimes, he said, we seek inspiration or a way to check in on ourselves. Of more than 100 million lookups on the website each month and a similar number

Merriam-Webster names ‘culture’ word of the year

on the company’s app, culture en-joyed a 15 percent year-over-year increase.

Percentage-wise, it doesn’t sound like much, but the raw number in that stratosphere is large, Soko-lowski said. He wouldn’t disclose actual numbers, though, citing the proprietary nature of that data for a company still privately held.

Sokolowski is a lexicographer, not a mind reader, so his observa-tions about why any single word takes off in terms of lookups is well-informed but theoretical.

“The word culture’s got a cul-tural story. We have noticed for years that culture has a cyclical spike every year at around Labor Day. That is to say back to school time during the month of Septem-ber, so we’ve been watching this word spike at that time for years,”

he said by telephone from Spring-field. “In recent years we’ve seen similar spikes at the end of semes-ters during finals.”

But traffic throughout the year indicates that culture is a “cha-meleon,” Sokolowski said. “When you put it next to another word it means something very different. For example, ‘consumer culture’ or ‘rape culture,’ which we’ve been reading about lately.”

There’s the “culture of transpa-rency” in government and busi-ness, and “celebrity culture,” and the “culture of winning” in sports, he noted. “It’s a word that can be very specific, like ‘test prep cultu-re,’ or it can be very, very broad, like ‘coffee culture.’”

One standout reference that cau-ght Sokolowski’s eye in The New Yorker’s December issue is from a new book, “How Google Works,” which includes a description of a software fix by a few engineers that made ads more relevant on the search engine:

“It wasn’t Google’s culture that turned those five engineers into problem-solving ninjas who

changed the course of the com-pany over the weekend,” wrote the authors, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and former head of product development Jonathan Rosenberg.

“Rather it was the culture that attracted the ninjas to the com-pany in the first place.”

Before the word culture explo-ded, Sokolowski said, “we used to talk about ‘society’ a lot. Certain groups are taking ‘society’ out of their names now. It seems to be receding. Part of that seems to be because it’s elitist. We’re using the word culture more frequently in that place.”

Not all lookup spikes are quite that complex. The reason “je ne sais quoi” landed at No. 6, for ins-tance, is “dead simple,” he said.

The fast-food drive-in chain So-nic, known for TV spots featuring two goofy dudes eating in a car, had them munching on boneless chicken wings in September.

“I’ve finally found myself a wingman,” goofy guy No. 1 says of the wings he hopes will make him a chick magnet.

“Oh right,” sneers goofy guy No. 2, “gonna give you that certain je ne sais quoi.”

Responds No. 1: “Jenna said what?”They mine the word play a cou-

ple more times, but you get the picture.

“Since September when this ad came out this word has been close to the Top 10 or in the Top 10 of our lookups almost every single day,” Sokolowski said.

Fast-food aside, he called this year’s list a relatively sober one.

Insidious, for example, received a bump early in the year when a new trailer was released for “Insi-dious: Chapter 3,” a prequel in the horror film franchise “Insidious,” out in June. The word surfaced in a big way again, on Oct. 8, when a Texas hospital released a state-ment on the death of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first confirmed Ebola patient in the United States.

The statement spoke of his cou-rageous battle and the hospital’s profound sadness when he “suc-cumbed to an insidious disease, Ebola.”

Rounding out the Top 10 are in-novation, surreptitious, autonomy and morbidity.

“This is a fairly sober list. It was a fairly sober year,” he concluded. AP

NEWS OF THE WORLD

A Merriam-Webster dictionary sits atop their citation files for the 2014 word of the year, "culture," at the dictionary publisher's offices in Springfield, Mass

The word "culture" in the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, in New York

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Robin Williams tops 2014 list of Google searchesThe reaction to Williams’ death in August

topped Google’s list of 2014’s fastest-ri-sing search requests. It beat notable events such as the World Cup, the Ebola outbreak, the March disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and the Ice Bucket Challenge, an Internet video craze to raise awareness and money for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Other topics of worldwide intrigue on Goo-gle included the addictive smartphone game “Flappy Bird,” bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst, the Middle East extremist group ISIS, the hit Disney movie “Frozen” and the Winter Olympics in Russia.

Williams, Ebola, the World Cup and the Ice Bucket also ranked among the most-discussed subjects this year on Facebook, which released its list last week. Google released its list Tues-day.

Williams’ death drove many people to remi-nisce about his career highlights. In the first

few days after his suicide, there was a six-fold increase in the number of Google searches for “carpe diem” — a Latin phrase for “seize the day” that Williams popularized in the film “Dead Poets Society.” Reports about Williams’ long-running battle with depression caused searches for that term to triple. There was also a flurry of searches about his movies (the

top five were: “Mrs. Doubtfire,” ‘’Dead Poets Society,” ‘’Good Will Hunting,” ‘’Jumanji” and “Patch Adams.”)

Google’s worldwide list of the year’s hottest search requests mirrored the activity in the U.S. with a few exceptions. Wurst didn’t make the Top 10 list in the U.S., nor did the Winter Olympics. Instead, Web surfers in the U.S. were seeking more information about the August confrontation that culminated in a white po-liceman shooting and killing Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Ukraine’s conflict with Russia also held more intrigue in the U.S. than the rest of the world.

Google’s review follows annual roundups compiled during the previous two weeks by its main search rivals. Although Google’s list usually comes last each year, its rankings typi-cally provide more telling insights into what people were thinking because the company’s technology processes about two out of every three search requests made on the Internet. AP

X4 PÁTIO DO SAL salt

Quinta dos Plátanos tou noir 2010

This Vinho Regional de Lisboa is an innovative blend of Touriga Nacional and Pinot Noir, arguably the finest of Portugal and France. Dark garnet with carmine-ruby rim, the fruit-driven nose emanates brandy-soaked cherry, cassis and nutmeg, adorned with geranium. Braced by lively acidity and rich tannins, the heady palate supplies black cherry, damson and tobacco leaf, augmented by sous bois. Medium-bodied at 14%, the fruity entry persists through a potent mid-palate, leading to a tannic finish.

cAntonese

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WORLD OF BACCHUSby Jacky I.F. Cheong

The Czech EnigmaIf Belgium is the amalgamation of Germanic and Latin cultures, Czech Republic would be one of Germanic and Slavic cultures. Situated in the heart of Europe, Czech Republic actually shares a lengthier border with Germany than Poland, and with Austria than Slovakia.For more than a millennium, the Czech lands were an integral part of the mainly German-speaking Holy Roman Empire and the Austrian Empire, hence its perceptible Habsburg influence. Prior to WWI, the historic Sudetenland was the industrial centre of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. To this day, Czech Republic remains the most advanced country from the former Eastern Bloc. Its GDP per capita, meanwhile, has already surpassed Portugal and Greece, and is approaching Italy and Spain.Czech Republic’s half-Germanic heritage is more than evident in its viticulture. For starters, the majority of grape varieties grown therein originate from either Austria or Germany, now joined by the usual list of international varieties from France. Yet more signi-ficantly, the Czech wine classification system is distinctly Germa-nic, with a clear emphasis on ripeness and must weight. Austrian and German designations exist almost in their entirety, just that names are in Czech, eg Qualitätswein (Jakostní), Kabinett (Kabinet), Spätlese (Pozdní Sběr), Auslese (Výběr z Hroznů), Beerenauslese (Výběr z Bobulí), Trockenbeerenauslese (Výběr z Cibéb), Strohwein (Slámové Víno) and Eiswein (Ledové Vino). In addition, the Czecho-Slovak Normalised Must-Weight Scale is also largely based on the German Oechsle scale.Established in 1430, Château Valtice is one of the largest producers in Czech Republic, with some 420ha under vine. Before and after joining the European Union in 2004, large amount of capital has been injected to modernise the Czech wine industry, and quality has been steadily on the rise.

To be continued…

To discover Czech wines, contact Mr Chris Chan of Tomizawa Co Ltd; E: chris@tomizawa.com.mo; T: +853 6661 6195

Jacky I.F. Cheong is a legal professional by day and columnist by night. Having spent his formative years in Britain, France, and Germany, he regularly writes about wine, fine arts,

classical music, and politics in several languages

Château ValtiCe Aurelius Výběr z

Hroznů 2011Equivalent to Auslese Halbtrocken. Aurelius is a Czech white variety by crossing Neuburger – per se a crossing of Roter Veltliner and Silvaner – with Riesling. Light citrine with bright lemon-lime reflex, the exotic nose effuses lime peel, guava and cut grass. Supported by adequate acidity, the refreshing palate provides lemon, apricot and fresh herbs. Off-dry and medium-bodied at 12.5%, the citrusy entry carries onto a spicy mid-palate, leading to a long finish.

Château ValtiCe rulAndské Šedé Výběr z

Hroznů 2011Equivalent to Auslese Halbtrocken. Rulandské Šedé is Pinot Gris in Czech. Bright amber with light golden reflex, the fragrant nose emanates clementine, nectarine and apple flower. Braced by sufficient acidity, the tangy palate supplies lemon peel, apple and white pepper. Off-dry and medium-bodied at 12.5%, the lemony entry continues through a lively mid-palate, leading to a peppery finish.

Château ValtiCe dornfelder Pozdní

sběr 2012Equivalent to Spätlese Halbtrocken. Dornfelder has no aliases apart from the scientific-sounding Weinsberg S 341 or We S 341. Reddish black with burgundy-purple rim, the aromatic nose dispenses black cherry, black chocolate and tobacco. Maintained by vivacious acidity and dry tannins, the smoky palate delivers cassis, clove and sous bois. Off-dry and medium-bodied at 11%, the juicy entry carries onto a spicy mid-palate, leading to a tannic finish.

Château ValtiCe Modrý PortugAl Pozdní sběr

2011Equivalent to Spätlese Trocken. Modrý Portugal is Blauer Portugieser in Czech. Bright garnet with cardinal-ruby rim, the floral nose furnishes raspberry, cinnamon and violet. Sustained by vibrant acidity and ample tannins, the fragrant palate offers cranberry, nutmeg and sous bois. Fully dry and medium-bodied at 11.5%, the berry-dominated entry continues through a dainty mid-palate, leading to a long finish.

19.12.2014 fri

TASTE OF EDESIA

Cake. “In a way, you are correct. The Coffee Milk Cho-colate Cake is a very masculine dessert, designed to be like a glass of latte. On top you have the coffee f lavor, and then some creamy touches. At the bottom, you have chocolate. The look is very simple,” he explains. Chef Koo’s desserts are very Asian in a sense that it is not too sweet, creamy and milky, but not heavy. The texture is not too dense, even can be considered to be f luffy. It’s a beautiful combi-nation. For me personally, the amount of sugar used is just right. Perfection. Mixed Berries Whi-te Chocolate Cake is splendid in its orangey, red fashion. In contrast to the Coffee Milk Chocolate Cake,

I t’s a cold Saturday morning in Macau. At 10am, I dread waking up to go for breakfast, but today, we have a special guest in town

and I am due to meet with him at The Seasons Training Restaurant, an experiential learning environment for the new Bachelor of Food and Beverage Management Program in the faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the Ma-cau University of Science and Technology. Fighting the wind with my coat on, I get off the taxi and walk quickly into the The Season’s dining hall. Smiling warmly, the waitress war-mly greets us and brings over the brunch menu. While the mysterious special guest that I am about to meet is still busy in the kitchen, my breakfast companion and I order some eggs and bacon to start, getting ourselves ready for some seriously delicious dessert. Finally, the person that I am supposed to see is available for a chat. At first glance from a distance, Chef Koo, our secret guest of the day, looks a bit like a rock star, with spiky hair. But actually, he is a pastry chef, a very talented one. Having worked with Pierre Gagnaire, opened his dessert shop, black n white, and culinary school, CHEFS, he is also the host on TVB’s dessert show named “Sweet Gentleman” 甜心先生 and appeared on the Chi-nese food channel為食台 TVB FOOD . Standing next to a table full of dessert, I notice the resemblance of the creations with the crea-tor. “The chocolate on top of these two desserts are made in the same style as your hair, my friend. Spiky,” I comment with a smile. The des-serts that I am referring to are Coffee Milk Cho-colate Cake and Mixed Berries White Chocolate

the Cinnamon Cherry Dark Chocolate Cake is an extremely feminine dessert, with a layer of glittering dark red-violet lacquer on top, which looks like lip gloss. “This is a reinterpretation of the black forest cake, but layered differently and presented in a more modern, sleek manner,” he says. “Girls must enjoy working with you because your concepts are so original and colorful,” I say. “Yes, I am very happy to be here in Macau and sharing my passion for pastry with the students at MUST. You must have patience to work as a pastry chef, and I see the potential of the studen-ts because they put a lot of effort in learning. I hope the students enjoyed working with me, es-pecially the girls,” he indicates.

SPIKY SWEET SENSATION Irene Sam

X6 PÁTIO DO SOL sun

WHAT’S ON ...

creative effort inspired by an exhibition, namely, Shimmering • Grand • Aquatic, held at MGM Macau. I created paintings, using a typical personal vocabulary to reinterpret this colourful, enchanting, special exhibition. These paintings were later showcased for the very first time in AFA’s exhibition New York, also at MGM, in 2013.

tiMe: 12pm-7pm (Closed on Tuesdays) until: February 8, 2015Venue: Ox Warehouse, corner of Avenida Do Coronel Mesquita and Avenida Do Almirante Lacerda adMission: Free enQuiries: (853) 2853 0026 orgAnizer: Ox Warehouse http://www.oxwarehouse.blogspot.com

tuesdAy (dec 23)“one hundred PhotograPhers FoCus on MaCau” exhibition

Along with the Red Sandalwood Art Exhibition of Old Beijing City Gates, MGM MACAU also hosts the China Daily’s “One Hundred Photographers Focus on Macau” Exhibition. Through the unique vision of 100 master photographers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, every precious moment of Macau is captured and expressed with emotions. This exhibition aims to promote the mutual communication and friendship between Macau and mainland China as well as revitalizing Chinese culture.

tiMe: 24 hours dailyuntil: March 22, 2015 Venue: L2 Showcase, MGM Macau, Av. Dr. Sun Yat Sen, NAPE adMission: Free enQuiries: (853) 8802 8888 orgAnizer: MGM Macau http://www.mgmmacau.com

wednesdAy (dec 24)Cookin’ nantaThis comedic skit, playing to packed audiences all around the world, features three chefs who are ordered by their bad tempered manager to prepare food for a wedding by 6 o’clock - and teach his

Official flag-raising ceremonies start a day packed with activities in grand style. The afternoon highlight is the Sports and Art Show in Commemoration of the 15th Anniversary of the Establishment of Macau SAR, which as well as athletics and artists’ impressions of the territory, will feature song and dance performances by top local artistes. A spectacular Fireworks display wraps up a wonderful day.

oFFiCial Flag-raising CereMoniestiMe: 8am (Lotus Square) 8:30 (Macau headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army)

sPorts and art show in CoMMeMoration For the 15th anniVersary oF the establishMent oF MaCau sar tiMe: 2pmVenue: Olympic Sports Centre, Ave. Olímpica, TaipaadMission: MOP200enQuiries: (853) 2823 6363 orgAnizer: Macau SAR Government http://www.sport.gov.mo

Fireworks disPlay tiMe: 9pmVenue: Macau Tower and Kun Iam Ecumenical Centre seafrontadMission: Free tourisM hotline: (853) 2833 3000 orgAnizer: Macau Government Tourism Office http://www.macautourism.gov.mo

sundAy (dec 21)Red Masterpieces: Lacquerware from the Reign of Emperor Qianlong – Palace Museum

“Red Masterpieces” features an array of nearly 120 pieces/sets of lacquerware produced during the Reign of Emperor Qinglong in Qing dynasty, from the collection of Palace Museum in Beijing, which include boxes with patterns, tiered-boxes, round plates, candle holders, etc. The exhibition aims to demonstrate, in an historical setting, the artistic achievement of lacquerware from the Reign of Emperor Qianlong through the diverse exhibits.

tiMe: 10am-7pm (Closed on Mondays, no admission after 6:30 pm) until: March 8, 2015Venue: Macau Museum of Art, Av. Xian Xing Hai, s/n, NAPE adMission: MOP5 (Free on Sundays and public holidays) enQuiries: (853) 8791 9814 orgAnizer: Macau Museum of Art http://www.mam.gov.mo

MondAy (dec 22)Cai guo Jie’s exhibition on ox exhibitions

In 2013 during my first visit to New York, a hub of important cultural phenomena, I visited many museums and galleries. Looking back at my experiences there, I discovered that my creative verve is closely associated with exhibitions as a platform, which prompted me to take on ‘exhibitions’ as a creative theme. I combed through my thoughts and plunged myself into the first

todAy (dec 19)the sMurFs liVe on stage – the sMurFs saVe sPring The evil wizard Gargamel, sworn enemy of the Smurfs, hatches a plan to trick Mother Nature and turn off Spring and capture the Smurfs in the process. Will the Smurfs be able to save themselves and Mother Nature? Children, families and fans of all ages can find out at The Venetian Theatre, where the Smurfs will try to save Spring in this magical musical story which is the first show prior to the world tour! It’s a rare chance to come and see everyone’s favourite Smurfs together, live on stage!

tiMe: 3:45pm & 7:45pm date: December 19-21, 2014Venue: The Venetian TheatreadMission: MOP100, MOP200, MOP300enQuiries: (853) 2882 8818 orgAnizer: The Venetian Macau-Resort- Hotelhttps://www.cotaiticketing.com

2014 MaCau aniMation FestiVal.The Macau Comics Festival is an integrated carnival of animation, creation and exhibition, attracting a large number of comic book fans and publishers. It also includes theme shows, Cosplay competition and singing performance etc.

tiMe: 1pm-10pm date: December 19-21, 2014Venue: Convention and Exhibition Centre, Macau Fisherman’s WharfenQuiries: (853) 2870 1328orgAnizer: Macau Comics Festival Organizing Committeehttp://www.macau-acg.org/cn/index.asp

toMorrow (dec 20)15th anniVersary oF the establishMent oF MaCau sar

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young nephew how to cook. Thus, the scene is set for chaos in the kitchen. The musical, non-verbal drama that unfolds is spiced up even more by audience participation, who can take up the role of the bride or groom in a traditional Korean wedding ceremony, competing to pile up dumplings whilst interacting with the performers.

Time: 8PM (tuesdays to Fridays) 5pm & 8pm (Saturdays & Sunday) 8pm (March 22, 2015)until: March 22, 2015 Venue: Sands Theatre at the Sands Macau/ No.203, Largo de Monte Carlo, Macau adMission: MOP280 up Reservation: http://cotaiticketing.com enQuiry: http://www.nantamacau.com orgAnizers: Red’s Group Holdings Limited, Chessman Entertainment Production Co. LTD, Nextra Marketing and Business Consulting Limited

thursdAy (dec 25)Penguins underCoVer iCe worldwith the dreaMworks gang Ice World is Asia’s largest annual indoor frozen wonderland created from thousands of blocks of multi-coloured ice skilfully carved into amazingly detailed sculptures by a team of expert craftsmen from Harbin in northern China. This year’s Ice World will be the most spectacular yet, with a host of colourful new DreamWorks Animation characters, vibrantly brought to life by dazzling light and stunning sound effects. This is truly a trip you and your family can’t afford to miss this winter!

tiMe: 11am-8pmUntil: MarCh 8, 2015 Venue: Cotai Expo Hall F, The Venetian Macau-Resort-HoteladMission: MOP120orgAnizer: The Venetian Macau-Resort-HotelenQuiries: (853)2882 8818 http://www.cotaiticketing.com

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