6 June 2007

bye bye, HK

kennedy-sunset

…for now, anyway. off to Bangkok for the summer.

28 May 2007

chicks and ducks and pigs, oh my

somewhere in sham shui po (深水埗)

somewhere in sham shui po (深水埗)

25 May 2007

star ferry, queens pier and erotica

again from EastSouthWestNorth: translated story by an assistant professor on the values gap between older and younger generations–in relation to the ‘cultural heritage vs. business development’ debate and that silly sex survey in the student newspaper at Chinese University (which the Obscene Articles Tribunal ruled as “indecent” a couple of weeks ago).

The sinners are still casting the stones, while those with flaws are picking on other people’s flaws. The moral judgment by the media, the judgments by the Obscene Articles Tribune and the disciplinary hearing at the Chinese University of Hong Kong are no different from the bulldozers at Star Ferry. When a bunch of 50- and 60-year-old rulers could not win by rational argument, they invoke the power of the system. This is like when a child asks a question that a parent felt should not be asked, the parents slaps the child and says: “You are not allowed to ask!”

I hope the writer is right about the younger generation identifying with post-materialism… in my governance and law class (the only wholly undergrad law class I took here) I was once in a group discussion on the protection of cultural heritage sites in HK–and despite the fact we were supposed to be taking the side of the preservationists, the students were still really concerned about trumping business interests (to the point of suggesting that our ‘heritage committee’ include representatives from property developers??). bizarre. but I guess law students tend to me more conservative in general. at least I hope that explains it. (then again, this is the same class in which I nearly threw a tantrum when a guy said there was no human rights problem in HK.)

hmmm, and I’m not sure anyone’s hit the ‘post’ part in post-materialism: shopping is still hands-down the favourite pastime here, spanning across all the generations.

19 May 2007

it’s 5 pm in the afternoon

…and it’s black outside. from rain.

this is only an warning.

I noticed on my exam schedule the following:

Please also take note of the following arrangements on the cancellation of examinations when either the Typhoon Signal No. 8 or the Black Rainstorm Warning Signal is hosted or in force:

(a) at or after 6:00am – all morning examinations will be cancelled automatically
(b) at or after 11:00am – all afternoon examinations will be cancelled automatically
(c) at or after 3:00pm – all evening examinations will be cancelled automatically.

now of course I want to see what a or warning is like…

(and if school is cancelled for “No. 8″, what would a hurricane signal No. 10 look like?? , anyone?)

17 May 2007

sham shui po: eat, live, play