For the weekend, a guilty pleasure.
And some sage advice:
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Hong Kong: Ten Years' After
(click on photo to enlarge)Trawlers at anchor, flying the PRC and HKSAR flags
Sunday marks the tenth anniversary of the handover. Since 1 July (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day) this year falls on a Sunday, Monday is a public holiday.
It rained, oh how it rained, on the evening of 30 June 1997. It looks like it'll rain again ten years' later.
One day follows another. And before you know where you are ten years have elapsed. Where did those days and nights go? How did the time fly by so quick?
So here we are, in the moment:
And for all its problems, Hong Kong remains a great place to live, at least for me and for many others I know. You can still find almost anything you want here at almost any time of day or night. And it’s still safe to walk down a dark street at four in the morning. And it will always be just a few hours away from some of the other most interesting places in the world. And I still have the freedom to express myself publicly in this fashion. Hong Kong. It ain’t perfect. But it’s my home.That's by Spike (aka Hong Kong Redux), and is from his latest column in bc magazine
UPDATE. Another view, and just as valid. The humbling of the white man in Hong Kong, by Kent Ewing: Asia Times Online
Ten years' after, how's it been for you?
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Hong Kong: Legislative Council
Some of the questions (and answers) from the LegCo meeting of Wednesday, 27 June 2007:
LCQ1: Selection of the Chief Executive and election of all LegCo Members by universal suffrage
LCQ3: Green paper on constitutional development
LCQ8: Cardiac health
LCQ12: Poaching activities carried out by illegal entrants
LCQ1: Selection of the Chief Executive and election of all LegCo Members by universal suffrage
LCQ3: Green paper on constitutional development
LCQ8: Cardiac health
LCQ12: Poaching activities carried out by illegal entrants
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
The Rolling Stones: Gimme Shelter
For the weekend, a guilty pleasure.
First track off the album Let It Bleed. As it began, so ended the confusing, exhilarating, turbulent, tumultuous "the Sixties": rape, murder. . . it's just a shot away.
Have a great weekend. After all, and also from Let It Bleed, "you can't always get what you want but you might find sometime you get what you need." Amen to that. Awimmin, too.
First track off the album Let It Bleed. As it began, so ended the confusing, exhilarating, turbulent, tumultuous "the Sixties": rape, murder. . . it's just a shot away.
Have a great weekend. After all, and also from Let It Bleed, "you can't always get what you want but you might find sometime you get what you need." Amen to that. Awimmin, too.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Hong Kong: local action
Local Action, by Daisann McLane: Learning Cantonese
It's a good read. And not for the first time, Daisann mentions the book Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong, by Alice Poon. Book review: hemlock
The digested review? Poon's book explains why and how a small group of property developers became mega-rich and in the process took commanding positions in the domestic economy: buses, electricity, gas, supermarkets and other retail chains, telecommunications. . .
Even shorter? Why things are the way they are.
According to Ms Poon, Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong, which was published in 2005, is available in Hong Kong at Dymocks as well as the other retail chain bookstore Bookazine.
It's also available online at Amazon, but the Amazon resellers are asking from US$29.50 to US$38 for Used copies.
However, although Land and the Ruling Class is not listed at Hong Kong's English-language on-line book retailer Paddyfield, an email to paddyfield elicits the following:
It's a good read. And not for the first time, Daisann mentions the book Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong, by Alice Poon. Book review: hemlock
The digested review? Poon's book explains why and how a small group of property developers became mega-rich and in the process took commanding positions in the domestic economy: buses, electricity, gas, supermarkets and other retail chains, telecommunications. . .
Even shorter? Why things are the way they are.
According to Ms Poon, Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong, which was published in 2005, is available in Hong Kong at Dymocks as well as the other retail chain bookstore Bookazine.
It's also available online at Amazon, but the Amazon resellers are asking from US$29.50 to US$38 for Used copies.
However, although Land and the Ruling Class is not listed at Hong Kong's English-language on-line book retailer Paddyfield, an email to paddyfield elicits the following:
We are pleased to inform you that we can order the book for you.The order is in. In the meantime, Local Action.
The price is HK$150.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Hong Kong: Wanchai air raid shelters and other historical remnants
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Stargazer: view toward horizon from 22°N 114°E
This is a follow-up to the photograph in this previous post.
The buildings around the main square of a little island in the South China Sea block any view of the horizon (and more else besides). So, the view from Mister Bijou's bijou balcony is limited.
Still, even with the semi-cramped view and the often overwhelming light pollution, there is on a cloudless evening stuff to see in the sky and wonder about. That crescent Moon, for instance, and the one very bright twinkling object. But what is it that burns so bright? Saturn or Venus?
At the same time last night, the moon was southeast of either Saturn or Venus. Tonight, at the same hour, the moon has shifted higher and more westward so that the positions are now reversed: Saturn or Venus is currently hanging to the Moon's southeast.
Saturn or Venus? Mister B now believes Nick G was spot on: Venus. Thanks, Nick G!
Venus burns much brighter than any other object in sky (besides the Sun and Moon). But, even so, this may help for tonight's view at seven thirty-six pm: fourmi lab
The buildings around the main square of a little island in the South China Sea block any view of the horizon (and more else besides). So, the view from Mister Bijou's bijou balcony is limited.
Still, even with the semi-cramped view and the often overwhelming light pollution, there is on a cloudless evening stuff to see in the sky and wonder about. That crescent Moon, for instance, and the one very bright twinkling object. But what is it that burns so bright? Saturn or Venus?
At the same time last night, the moon was southeast of either Saturn or Venus. Tonight, at the same hour, the moon has shifted higher and more westward so that the positions are now reversed: Saturn or Venus is currently hanging to the Moon's southeast.
Saturn or Venus? Mister B now believes Nick G was spot on: Venus. Thanks, Nick G!
Venus burns much brighter than any other object in sky (besides the Sun and Moon). But, even so, this may help for tonight's view at seven thirty-six pm: fourmi lab
Hong Kong: Legislative Council Questions
Some of the questions (and answers) from the LegCo meeting of Wednesday, 20 June 2007:
LCQ4: Frontier Closed Area
LCQ6 : Suicide or attempted suicide cases on MTR tracks
LCQ16: Posting hyperlinks on Internet forum
LCQ4: Frontier Closed Area
LCQ6 : Suicide or attempted suicide cases on MTR tracks
LCQ16: Posting hyperlinks on Internet forum
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Eye | Land | View
(click on photo to enlarge)Seven thirty-six pm: the crescent Moon hangs off
Hong Kong: Dragon Boat Festival
Tomorrow is the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese calendar, which means Dragon Boat Festival (端午節), and a public holiday.
Like many festivals around the world, Dragon Boat festival's origins are not known for sure. The commonly-held view is that the day commemorates and celebrates Chinese poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BC-278 BC). Disgusted by the corruption of the government in what is now Hunan province, Qu protested and committed suicide by drowning himself in a river.
More on Qu Yuan and Dragon Boat festival : wikipedia
As with any good festival, food is involved. In this case, sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves.
This one is filled with rice, minced pork, salty egg and a soupçon of dried shrimp.
Pre-cooked, the organically-wrapped pyramid package was HK$10 from a shop on a corner of the square. The shop is, by the way, considered one of the best places for cooked foods on a little island in the South China Sea because "they change their oil often."
To re-heat: three minutes in a microwave or 15 minutes steamed in a wok. Given the contents, it is recommended to supplement with green vegtables. Bon appétit!
Like many festivals around the world, Dragon Boat festival's origins are not known for sure. The commonly-held view is that the day commemorates and celebrates Chinese poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BC-278 BC). Disgusted by the corruption of the government in what is now Hunan province, Qu protested and committed suicide by drowning himself in a river.
More on Qu Yuan and Dragon Boat festival : wikipedia
As with any good festival, food is involved. In this case, sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves.This one is filled with rice, minced pork, salty egg and a soupçon of dried shrimp.
Pre-cooked, the organically-wrapped pyramid package was HK$10 from a shop on a corner of the square. The shop is, by the way, considered one of the best places for cooked foods on a little island in the South China Sea because "they change their oil often."
To re-heat: three minutes in a microwave or 15 minutes steamed in a wok. Given the contents, it is recommended to supplement with green vegtables. Bon appétit!
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