All posts filed under: Personal

Dessert…is the Food for Soul

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Let’s take a break from the heavier stuff. In recent years, I have taken quite a liking to cooking and making desserts. This is partly because I am beginning to notice how the food you eat affect how your body functions and feels. Another reason is the sense of accomplishment that comes with making good food. I admit, my skills as a chief is probably only average, but part of the fun is to see my personal growth. With each meal and dessert I make, I gain more experience with how to prepare the ingredients and what to do once the fire is on. Desserts are my favorite things to make. The more challenging the dessert, the more I want to attempt it. I always love a good challenge and a hard dessert is like a puzzle to be solved. Personally, I think unlike main courses and dishes, most dessert recipes require some delicacy to their preparation and cooking. It takes patience and care to make a good dessert. As the ancient Chinese like to …

The Mental Acrobatics of Space

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Space has always fascinated me. It is something we experience constantly, but few would pause to give thought about. As a child, I built castles and moats out of rocks and mud. I drew imaginary and fantastic maps. I created cities out of Lego and origami. Yet, I never truly understood the spatial arrangements and relationships between objects. To be honest, despite going to graduate school I still do not completely understand them. In my humble opinion, I believe the interactions between psychology, design, and planning have been quite weak. Why do we prefer smooth edges and straight lines? Why do we have preferences for certain spatial arrangements? Why are certain places more attractive than others, even if they are designed similarly? Why do we prefer to be in the middle of spaces as opposed to the edges? How do we use the space around us and why are some spaces more utilized than others? Certainly, part of the answers to these questions depend on not only personal preferences but also historical and cultural background – …

Relaunch…The Brand New Ideas by IamLliw

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Hello everyone! IamLliw is back! For those that don’t know, check out About Ideas by IamLliw. It has been a long time. In the last couple years, I attended and graduated with a M.A. from Arizona State University. I focused on urban environment studies through an urban political ecology framework. My passion for space and the use of space led to me examine relationships between social issues and their spatial distribution. Along those lines, I immersed myself in urban planning and development, as I pursued my interest in urban environments that developed during my time in the Department of Environmental Protection of Taipei. The major projects I have been involved in typically revolved around the spatial analysis of cities. That is also where my passion lies – understanding, analyzing, and creating space. Unfortunately, this blog fell to the wayside with my focus dedicated to my studies. However, my experiences in academics taught me the importance of developing and sustaining a voice. At its core, every published research paper is an intellectually developed and evidence based report …

Kenting Travelogue

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Kenting – a summer paradise for beach-goers and sun-lovers at the southern tip of Taiwan. It has been almost ten years since I last set my eyes on its bustling main street, its numerous inns and shops, and its small beaches. The sun just feels different there, different from the sun in Taipei. More radiant, it shines down from a blue sky flanked by towering white clouds that floats like cotton candy instead of the dark, foreboding rain clouds that seem hang over Taipei perpetually. Perhaps that is just my imagination, fueled by a desire to get out of the trappings that I have come to associate with Taipei. What makes a place attractive is not what characterizes it. It is just how much we prepared ourselves to find the place attractive (kind of works with people too…hahaha). For me, someone who loves being outdoors in the sun, Kenting is vastly more attractive than Taipei. For others, those who show up on a trip to the beach with brand-name bags, make-up, and high heels, the …