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Ottawa Citizen
6 days ago
- General
- Ottawa Citizen
Outdoors: Creating a Japanese-inspired garden
Article content My English-style flower garden had its moments of glory but was mostly a mishmash of one-off and failure-to-thrive plants. I wanted something simpler, cohesive, peaceful even; I found all that and more in the Japanese-inspired garden I created in my small Centretown Ottawa backyard. Article content Japan's unique gardening tradition, passed from Master to pupil for 1,600 years, is rooted in reverence for the natural world: small ponds or raked gravel suggest the sea, rocks evoke mountains, bamboo speak to resilience, conifers to longevity. Article content Article content Article content After much research, I built two types of Japanese gardens: a spiritual Karensansui or dry garden with carefully placed rocks in a sea of gravel (such as the one at Ottawa's Museum of History), and a very small secular stroll or pond garden. The former is complex, so I will describe the stroll garden. Article content These began around the 8 th century as places for entertaining and aesthetic enjoyment. They usually include a villa, water, paths, bridges, a gate, as well as plants. My stroll garden is much modified from the Japanese ideal; it depends on available plants and the limits of my small space. The garden is only 14-feet long by 12-feet wide, although it is expanded visually by the borrowed landscape or shakkeir of my neighbour's maples and cedars. Article content Article content Japanese stroll gardens are intended to appear natural, as if they grew by themselves, but the components are carefully chosen and arranged. Asymmetry is key; rocks and plants appear in odd-numbered groupings (one, three, five, seven, etc.) often arranged in a triangular shape. Paths and beds are curved; nature has few straight lines. And there are a limited number of elements and plant types with space, or Ma, in between. Article content Article content Hardscaping my garden began with the meandering path, which determined the placement of other elements. I chose simple flag stones, flush to the ground. To stay on the path, you must look down at the stones. When you come to wider stones, strollers may pause and look up to see a specific garden view, like a framed work of art. This is the essence of the stroll garden. Article content A fence or wall provides a backdrop and encloses the garden. Often these are bamboo, but I already had lattice, which allows air to flow through on hot days, so I kept that. Article content I also had a bridge, of sorts. These can be arched or flat, slabs of stone or logs. Mine bridges a downward slope in the garden and is made from floor planks recovered from a demolished workshop. This is in keeping with the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi: succinctly put, embracing imperfect, often aged, natural materials, that illustrate the impermanence of life, a Buddhist tenant.
RTHK
12-06-2025
- Politics
- RTHK
Stay alert against security risks: Paul Lam
Stay alert against security risks: Paul Lam Paul Lam, left, and Chris Tang launch the exhibition at the Museum of History marking five years since the promulgation of the National Security Law. Photo: RTHK Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said on Thursday the public needs to be vigilant against national security risks at all times as the country and the SAR are subject to constant foreign attacks. In the opening of an exhibition marking the 5th anniversary of the promulgation of the National Security Law, Lam said the public should never forget the painful lessons of 2019 when national security was under serious threat. The justice chief stressed that as stated in the security law, every Chinese – including those in Hong Kong – are obliged to safeguard the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. "Chinese people attach importance to walking the walk and not just talking the talk," Lam said. "As national security is closely related to the personal well-being of all of us, it's only natural that we take up the responsibility of safeguarding national security." Speaking at the same ceremony, Secretary for Security Chris Tang said there have been 326 arrests in national security-related cases as of the end of May, of which 165 people were convicted. He said it's encouraging that officers have received more than 920,000 reports of suspected national security breaches on a hotline. Separately, in an interview with Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po, Lam stressed that the legal regime safeguarding national security will need to be improved constantly to guard against new types of potential risks. The justice secretary went on to say that public awareness of national security has clearly increased. Meanwhile, Tang told Sing Tao Daily and Ta Kung Pao that as the SAR is relatively inexperienced in terms of safeguarding national security, members of the disciplined forces must strengthen their awareness, knowledge and a sense of responsibility in this regard. He said they'll go on exchange tours on the mainland and learn more from their counterparts.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
A ‘rock' used as a doorstop for decades turns out to be worth €1million
One person's doorstop is another's life-altering treasure... A 3.5kg reddish chunk of 'rock' was found in a stream bed in southeast Romania by an elderly woman. She brought it home and used it to keep a door open for decades. After her death in 1991, a relative inherited her property and noticed the 'rock'. He decided to have it appraised... Verdict? The woman's door wedge revealed itself to be one of the largest intact pieces of amber deposits in the world. And how much would something like that be worth? Well, around €1 million. According to a report by El Pais, the fragment was bought by the Craotian government and subsequently sent to the Museum of History in Krakow, Poland. According to findings, the amber deposit is estimated to be between 38 and 70 million years old, likely originating from the resin of prehistoric coniferous trees. It was preserved and fossilized over tens of millions of years through intense geological pressure. Considering amber's medicinal properties as well as rumanite's status as a highly valued stone when it comes to jewelry, it's one hell of a discovery. Now classified as a national treasure of Romania and a protected cultural asset, the discovery currently has a home at the Provincial Museum of Buzău. "Its discovery represents a great significance both at a scientific level and at a museum level," Daniel Costache, director of the museum told El Pais. The museum has also announced plans for scientific analyses of the material, including studies of its composition, structure, and possible inclusions of ancient biological material. The story is reminiscent of a similar case in the US state of Michigan, where a piece of stone also used as a doorstopper for decades turned out to be a rare meteorite worth $100,000. The 10kg space rock was brought to Central Michigan University (CMU) for examination and it was identified in 2018. It is believed to have touched down in the 1930s on a farm in Edmore, Michigan. Mona Sirbescu, a geology professor at CMU, said at the time: "I could tell right away that this was something special. It's the most valuable specimen I have ever held in my life, monetarily and scientifically." Moral of the story? Not all treasure has to be golden - and keep your eyes peeled for what your family members are using to keep their doors ajar.
Euronews
03-04-2025
- Science
- Euronews
A ‘rock' used as a doorstop for decades turns out to be worth €1million
ADVERTISEMENT One person's doorstop is another's life-altering treasure... A 3.5kg reddish chunk of 'rock' was found in a stream bed in southeast Romania by an elderly woman. She brought it home and used it to keep a door open for decades. After her death in 1991, a relative inherited her property and noticed the 'rock'. He decided to have it appraised... Verdict? The woman's door wedge revealed itself to be one of the largest intact pieces of amber deposits in the world. And how much would something like that be worth? Well, around €1 million. According to a report by El Pais, the fragment was bought by the Craotian government and subsequently sent to the Museum of History in Krakow, Poland. According to findings, the amber deposit is estimated to be between 38 and 70 million years old, likely originating from the resin of prehistoric coniferous trees. It was preserved and fossilized over tens of millions of years through intense geological pressure. Considering amber's medicinal properties as well as rumanite's status as a highly valued stone when it comes to jewelry, it's one hell of a discovery. Now classified as a national treasure of Romania and a protected cultural asset, the discovery currently has a home at the Provincial Museum of Buzău. "Its discovery represents a great significance both at a scientific level and at a museum level," Daniel Costache, director of the museum told El Pais. The museum has also announced plans for scientific analyses of the material, including studies of its composition, structure, and possible inclusions of ancient biological material. The amber doorstop Buzău County Museum The story is reminiscent of a similar case in the US state of Michigan, where a piece of stone also used as a doorstopper for decades turned out to be a rare meteorite worth $100,000. The 10kg space rock was brought to Central Michigan University (CMU) for examination and it was identified in 2018. It is believed to have touched down in the 1930s on a farm in Edmore, Michigan. Mona Sirbescu, a geology professor at CMU, said at the time: "I could tell right away that this was something special. It's the most valuable specimen I have ever held in my life, monetarily and scientifically." Moral of the story? Not all treasure has to be golden - and keep your eyes peeled for what your family members are using to keep their doors ajar.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Poillievre proposes tax cut to save 'modest income' families about $1,800 per year
OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced a proposal on Monday to cut the lowest income tax bracket, saving the average family about $1,800 annually. The Conservatives plan to lower the bottom income tax bracket from 15 per cent to 12.75 per cent, which the party says would save the average worker about $900. Poilievre said a Conservative government will pay for the tax cut by cutting waste, eliminating bureaucracy and consultants and bringing in a rule that any new spending needs to be offset by spending cuts of the same size. In a video posted to social media early on Monday morning, Poilievre described taxes as 'the fine you pay for the crime of working hard.' The Conservative proposal one-ups a promise from Liberal Leader Mark Carney on Sunday that he would cut the lowest income tax bracket by one percentage point, from 15 per cent to 14 per cent. Carney's plan would save the average two-income family about $825. Poilievre also portrayed the tax cut as a way to build a buffer against the threat of tariffs from the United States. 'We know that tax cuts create jobs and that will help build Canada's economic fortress against American threats,' said Poilievre. Poilievre will be in Brampton this morning for a 10 a.m. press conference after launching his campaign at the Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., on Sunday. More to come. National Post Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what's really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.
