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Sitting and seeing the year out

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Winter monsoon wear

A cold front has swept down from the north. The air temperature on a little island in the South China Sea is currently 13.3C and dropping, probably to a low of 11C overnight.

New Year's Eve will be "fine and dry" with a high of 16C and humidity below 50%. Hong Kong Observatory talks about 'fresh northerly winds" amd forecasts an even colder and drier New Year's Day.

Time to dig out the lip salve.

Van Morrison: Sweet Thing

For the weekend, a guilty pleasure.

Astral Weeks . . . side one, track three:



End of year bonus, From Stranded (1979):

Van Morrison's Astral Weeks was released ten years, almost to the day, before this was written. It was particularly important to me because the fall of 1968 was such a terrible time: I was a physical and mental wreck, nerves shredded and ghosts and spiders looming and squatting across the mind. My social contacts had dwindled to almost none; the presence of other people made me nervous and paranoid. I spent endless days and nights sunk in an armchair in my bedroom, reading magazines, watching TV, listening to records, staring into space. I had no idea how to improve the situation and probably wouldn't have done anything about it if I had.

Lester Bangs

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Dried seafood stall

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On the waterfront

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The Marine Police do a medevac

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The evangelicals (plus tree) pass through the square

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Christmas Eve on the waterfront

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Christmas on the waterfront of a little island in the South China Sea

Grace Jones: I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)

For the weekend, a guilty pleasure.

Nightclubbing . . .

China: Choking on Growth

Ninth in a series of articles and multimedia examining the human toll, global impact and political challenge of China's epic pollution crisis: China Grabs West’s Smoke-Spewing Factories: NYT

Previously in the series:
The Overview
China's Water Crisiis
The Activist
Three Gorges Dam
Energy Rules
Wildlife Threatened
Polluting Trucks

Interested? Start here: NYT

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Local fire station

Hong Kong: Legislative Council Questions

Some of the questions (and answers) from the LegCo meeting of Wednesday, 19 December 2007:

LCQ13:Fresh food prices
LCQ17: Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections
LCQ20: Assistance to low-income people

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Late afternoon, waterfront

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Couple

Reading matters

The phenomenon of the Christmas bestseller, by Stuart Jeffries: Guardian

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A nice cuppa tea

Dennis Potter: The Singing Detective

For the weekend, a gulty pleasure.

Keep your pecker up, old chap:

"Chinois, encore un effort pour être révolutionnaires"

In May 1968, the Situationist-inspired Occupation Committee of the People's Free Sorbonne University sent the following telegram from Paris:

POLITBURO OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY GATE OF CELESTIAL PEACE PEKING

SHAKE IN YOUR SHOES BUREAUCRATS STOP THE INTERNATIONAL POWER OF THE WORKERS COUNCILS WILL SOON WIPE YOU OUT STOP HUMANITY WON’T BE HAPPY TILL THE LAST BUREAUCRAT IS HUNG WITH THE GUTS OF THE LAST CAPITALIST STOP LONG LIVE FACTORY OCCUPATIONS STOP LONG LIVE THE GREAT CHINESE PROLETARIAN REVOLUTION OF 1927 BETRAYED BY THE STALINIST BUREAUCRATS STOP LONG LIVE THE PROLETARIANS OF CANTON AND ELSEWHERE WHO HAVE TAKEN UP ARMS AGAINST THE SO-CALLED PEOPLE’S ARMY STOP LONG LIVE THE CHINESE WORKERS AND STUDENTS WHO HAVE ATTACKED THE SO-CALLED CULTURAL REVOLUTION AND THE MAOIST BUREAUCRATIC ORDER STOP LONG LIVE REVOLUTIONARY MARXISM STOP DOWN WITH THE STATE STOP OCCUPATION COMMITTEE OF THE PEOPLE’S FREE SORBONNE

Some years later (1977) René Viénet, Situationist writer and filmmaker, assembled a visual collage from historic film footage to produce this amazing (and anti-maoist) political documentary about China in the 20th century: ubu

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Indoor market stairwell

Hong Kong: Legislative Council Questions

Some of the questions (and answers) from the LegCo meeting of Wednesday, 12 December 2007:

LCQ1: Statutory minimum wage
LCQ7: Improvements to urban planning, land administration and approval procedures for building construction
LCQ13: Remuneration package for Officials Under Political Appointment System

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Cargo boat

Master Landscape Plan: Fisherman's Wharf?

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Here is a detail of a map of a Master Landscape Plan for a section of a little island in the South China Sea's harbour front. The whole thing -- plus a couple of artist impressions of how it is supposed to look when it is done -- is on a panel standing right next to the ferry terminal.

The Master Landscape Plan starts a little north of the ferry terminal and extends up to Pak Tai football pitch. Just close by that lone HSBC ATM machine is the entrance to a "wood deck promenade". Further along are two Observation Piers, a Fishing Plaza and a pier for guidos. The already established restaurant row becomes a Food and Beverage Corridor.

All fine and dandy. Now if they could just find a way to encourage the fishing boats and other harbour users not to dump diesel, sundry liquids and other stuff into the harbour. . .

Beijing and the water follies of the 2008 Olympics

Thirsty Dragon at the Olympics, by Dai Qing: New York Review of Books

Creature Comforts: Jaguar

For the weekend, a guilty pleasure.

Notes on a cold island:

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The two large shophouses on the corner of the waterfront and the square were put up for sale by auction in the spring. Whoever bought them got the wrecking crew in this week.

Now the buildings are no more. But not for long. For pleasure and profit, another building is in store. It's a primo site.

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Public pier

Hong Kong: King Hui -- The Man Who Owned All The Opium In Hong Kong

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Officially launched today, Jonathan Chamberlain's book King Hui: The Man Who Owned All The Opium in Hong Kong.

Good title, eh?

The book should now be available in, as they say, all good book stores. In Hong Kong, anyway.

Online shoppers? Yes, here (free international delivery): blacksmiths books

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Public pier, citizens' action produces seats for all tastes

Reading matters

Joseph Conrad: the moral agent, by Giles Foden: Guardian
The future warehouse of unwanted books: bldgblog

Hong Kong: Legislative Council Questions

Some of the questions (and answers) from the LegCo meeting of Wednesday, 5 December 2007:

LCQ4: Economic benefits of Hong Kong Disneyland
LCQ16: Pilot project to purchase primary care services from private sector
LCQ20: Introduction of vehicles using cleaner fuels

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Another hospital, out-patients department

Medical matters account for the absence of posts for the previous eight or so days. The sun rises, the sun sets. Life is sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet. Mister B now looks forward to posting some more. For the emails, thanks!

Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians

For the weekend, a guilty pleasure.

Song without words:

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Local hospital, out-patients department

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Roadrunner

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Widescreen!

King Hui: The Man Who Owned All the Opium in Hong Kong

Jonathan Chamberlain, an ex long-term resident of a little island in the South China Sea, has written a biography of a man known as Peter Hui.

The book will shift copies on its title alone: the Man Who Owned All the Opium in Hong Kong. How long did that fortunate state of affairs endure? Five minutes or five hours? Enquiring minds need to know.

And yet this book is not just one man’s story. It is the story of a time and place -- colonial Hong Kong, Portuguese Macao and the south China hinterland between Hong Kong and Canton -- seen from the unique point of view of a man who was at home at all levels of society. There are, for example, no other published accounts of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong as seen from the non-combatant Chinese perspective.

King Hui goes on sale in early December. However, if you order the book before 30 November 2007, Jonathan will sign yr copy! More details about the author, King Hui, and ordering: blacksmith books

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Pedestrian

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Basketball players

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District Council elections today. Staking out one of the polling stations on a little island sitting in the South China Sea are some members of the DAB.

Leonard Bernstein/Richard Wilbur: Candide

For the weekend, a guilty pleasure.

Glitter and Be Gay? Kristin Chenoweth:

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Agit-prop for Sunday's district council elections

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The card game

Reading matters

Hold Everything Dear: Surviving The Nights And Imagining A New Day, by John Berger: zmag

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Street corner

Hong Kong: some measures for the common good

Tomorrow (13 November 2007) in Legco, Wong Kwok-hing proposes the following motion:

"That, in order to fully utilise human and land resources, develop diversified hawking and bazaar economic activities to enhance the attractiveness of tourism in Hong Kong, as well as to further revitalise on-street economy and diversified economic activities in remote new towns, this Council urges the Government to:

(a) preserve existing bazaars which have local economic, cultural and native characteristics, and assist in the sustainable development of such bazaars;

(b) establish and develop new marketplaces with various characteristics, such as creativity bazaars and marketplaces for organic fishery and agricultural produce;

(c) set up designated zones for street art performance, arts fairs and the like in order to encourage and promote the culture of street art performance, preserve collective memories, and maintain, discover and nurture the culture and talents of folk art performance;

(d) set up various types of dawn markets and night markets at suitable locations so that those running small businesses who are self-reliant and self-supporting can have a way out;

(e) explore the setting up of on-street cooked food designated zones featuring specialty food and drinks;

(f) expeditiously conduct a comprehensive review on the policies for hawker licensing and management to tie in with the objective of promoting diversified hawking and bazaar economic activities; and

(g) proactively explore with various District Councils to implement the above measures and means for revitalising the diversified economy and culture in the districts,

so as to provide the grass-roots with opportunities for starting up small businesses and employment."

Now that's urban renewal.

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Navigator

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Family

Björk and PJ Harvey: (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

For the weekend, a guilty pleasure.

Cool blue:

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Snap shot

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Cargo boat

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Waterfront, a gaze returned

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Late night diners

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Out-patients department, pharmacy

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Ten-thirty ferry

Sally Yeh: Night Breeze (晚風)

For the weekend, a guilty pleasure.

For taxi dancers and other travellers, a shapely Latin rhumba rhythm:

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Waterfront, dim sum and roast meat takeaway

Reading matters

Thailand & Ghosts, an interview with John Burdett (Bangkok 8): rain taxi

Talking into Being, an interview with Michael Hardt (Multitude): rain taxi

Reading matters

The demolition of Star Ferry Pier -- urban reclamation versus cultural heritage in Hong Kong, by Hilary Tsui: eurozine/dérive

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Tung Wan beach lifeguard watches local haze, and regional smog

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Wet market

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Marine Police launch

Hong Kong: Baat Baat Baat

Baat Baat Baat (Power of Eight), by Daisann McLane: Learning Cantonese

Kate Bush: Rocket Man

For the weekend, a guilty pleasure.

High heels, a two-piece suit, and the rhythm of reggae:

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Below the public housing estate, late afternoon

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Waterfront, late afternoon

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Feral cat

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Faux marble, street-drain cover

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Ferry pier

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Waterfront trio

Andrei Tarkovsky: The Mirror

For the weekend, a guilty pleasure.

The poem recited during the opening scene is First Meetings by Arseny Tarkovksy, the film director's father:

We celebrated each moment
of our meetings as a revelation
alone in all the world.
[...]
As Fate followed in our wake,
like a madman brandishing a razor.

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San Hing Back Street, cha chaan teng (茶餐廳): Wikipedia

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Peak Road, Hong Kong Jockey Club off-course betting centre

Hong Kong: Chung Yeung festival

Tomorrow, Friday (19 October 2007) is Chung Yeung festival. Hereabouts, it's traditionally the day for sweeping clean the graves of one's ancestors.

Chung Yeung is a public holiday.

This is also one of those festivals where people burn incense sticks, candles and whatever in hillside cemeteries. And since we are well into the dry season, this is also the time when hillsides catch fire.

The hill fires happen every year during this festival. It is really sad to see a necklace of flame advancing across a hillside and leaving in its wake incinerated trees, bushes and grassland. Such needless destruction.

Lo and behold, the colonial legacy lives on with a Task Force on Hill Fires. As per usual:

Fire Services Department will be on full alert from October 19 to 21. It will deploy additional manpower and fire appliances to deal with possible hillfires. Fire officers will step up their patrol on hillfire blackspots during the period.

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department will set up a special enforcement team to perform advisory and law enforcement work. It will deploy its fire crews to patrol country park areas and stand by for firefighting.

Government Flying Services will deploy additional crews to stand by for firefighting and airlifting firefighters.

Civil Aid Service will deploy 230 voluntary officers to patrol country parks and provide firefighting assistance.

Auxiliary Medical Service will deploy 150 members to cemeteries and provide first-aid assistance during the period.

The Police will deploy more officers for traffic and crowd control duties at cemeteries during the Chung Yeung Festival.

Source: press release

Anyway, fingers crossed that not too much goes up in smoke.

Reading matters

A Tribute To My Primary School: Alice Poon

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San Hing Street