HK Snap Shot

Tapped Out

Found a new book on the market. It talks about how the people, machines, economies, and cultural trends that have made bottled water a $60-billion-a-year phenomenon even as it threatens local control of a natural resource and litters the landscape with plastic waste:

Product Description from Amazon.com

An incisive, intrepid, and habit-changing narrative investigation into the commercialization of our most basic human need: drinking water. Having already surpassed milk and beer, and second now only to soda, bottled water is on the verge of becoming the most popular beverage in the country. The brands have become so ubiquitous that we’re hardly conscious that Poland Spring and Evian were once real springs, bubbling in remote corners of Maine and France. Only now, with the water industry trading in the billions of dollars, have we begun to question what it is we’re drinking and why.

In this intelligent, eye-opening work of narrative journalism, Elizabeth Royte does for water what Eric Schlosser did for fast food: she finds the people, machines, economies, and cultural trends that bring it from nature to our supermarkets. Along the way, she investigates the questions we must inevitably answer. Who owns our water? What happens when a bottled-water company stakes a claim on your town’s source? Should we have to pay for water? Is the stuff coming from the tap completely safe? And if so, how many chemicals are dumped in to make it potable? What’s the environmental footprint of making, transporting, and disposing of all those plastic bottles?

A riveting chronicle of one of the greatest marketing coups of the twentieth century as well as a powerful environmental wake-up call, Bottlemania is essential reading for anyone who shells out two dollars to quench their daily thirst.

The topic sounds really interesting to me and will see if i have a chance to get one soon.




IHT Book Review: "Bottlemania"

"Bottlemania" Official Website

First Chapter- "Bottlemania"

China Snap Shots- Guangdong

Lamma Snap Shot - Tin Hau Festival 2008

火，火把，「把火」，「把幾火」

A commentry from a HK newpaper HKEJ (in chinese), it said my view for the Olympic Torch HK relay. I'm really really pissed off by the event at the moment


Hong Kong Economic Journal
P07 | 時事評論 | 香島論叢 | By 練乙錚
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火，火把，「把火」，「把幾火」

　　「同一個世界、同一個夢想」這樣一個飽含着民胞物與、開放與包容的口號，昨天隨着奧運火 炬抵港而具體落實到此地，竟變異為一齣以「親疏有別」、「非友即敵」為主題的政治回佣鬧劇，實在令人嘖嘖稱奇！古希臘城邦在進行你死我活的戰爭之際，人們 尚有雅量每幾年找一些日子停下來，放下武器，在運動場上和平、公平地競技，今天香港的一批權貴，卻沒有這個心胸與小圈子以外的人士分享一點點喜悅，兩相比 較，精神境界高下立見。導演這齣鬧劇的袞袞諸公，並不意識到這種關起門來愛國的荒謬，大多數香港人卻又一次清楚領教所謂「具有廣泛代表性」這句政治口頭禪 的真正意思。不過，山高皇帝遠，北京亦很難通過自己的管道，知道此事在香港搞得如何齷齪。

　　火的文化意義很複雜，有民生方面的，有道德方 面的，更有政治方面的，無論中外，都是如此。《易經》裏頭與火有關的卦有好幾個，其中以「離」卦最為直接：離為火。其象辭為「明兩作，離。大人以繼明照於 四方」。這是十分政治性的說話，簡單解釋一下。「離」的卦畫由兩個相同的符號上下重疊組成，是八卦之一，代表五行中的火；火有光明之意，「明兩作」即光明 又光明；「大人」即統治者，手中握有權力的人；「大人以繼明照於四方」，即治理國家的人，要以連續不斷的光明道德照臨天下。火的政治道德涵義，深植中國文 化之中，掩蓋不了；你舉起一把火，要中國人不作政治聯想、政治解讀，沒有可能。事實說明，火炬傳遞到了香港，由誰來舉着跑，是一個徹頭徹尾的政治決定，十 分符合中國的文化傳統，問題是那些「大人」們的政治搞作，是否「以繼明照於四方」罷了。

　　還有兩個與火直接有關的卦，一個是「晉」卦，卦 畫是，上面的是火，下面的是五行中的土；火在土上，即光明出現在大地上；這是一個吉卦。與「晉」卦剛好相反的，是「明夷」卦，卦畫是，即土在火上；光明進 入地下，這是一個凶卦，嚴重起來，可以亡國滅種；「夷」是受傷的意思，「明夷」是光明受了傷，世界一片黑暗。明朝末年大思想家黃宗羲的《明夷待訪錄》一 書，便是以此卦命名的大痛之作。傳遞這好好一把奧運火炬，你不是光明正大，而是在進入大陸之前搞黑箱運作、地下作業，真是不吉祥之舉。此卦勸人在極不吉利的情況下怎麼辦呢？「君子以蒞眾用晦而明」，即統治者此時面對群眾應自隱其總慧，集思廣益，要有容人之見的雅量。話說到點子上了！

　 　在西方文化中，火也象徵文明，與野蠻相反的文明。文學諾獎得主威廉．弋以定的小說《蒼蠅王》（Lord of The Flies），裏頭就有象徵文明的那麼一把長明的火。當那群流落荒島上的孩子們殘殺成性的時候，火就幾乎熄滅；當他們中間一些記起自己是文明人、還希望回 到文明世界之時，火又熊熊重燃；最終，森林失火，整個小島變成一個大火炬，引起一艘經過的軍艦注意，孩子們於是得救，回到文明。在這部小說裏，還看得出作 者有意識地用火象徵人類社會中的光明、文明一面；在一些民間傳說或神話中，火的象徵意義來得更自然。希臘神話中的普羅米修斯盜取天火、造福人類的經典故 事，其實在很多其他民族當中，都有類似的版本。美國印第安人神話裏，常有一隻與人為善的野兔，在阿爾干昆族（Algonquin）的傳說中，這隻兔子從壟 斷了火的神那裏盜取火種，造福全人類。不過，內容最豐富、寓意最深刻的盜火神話，大概還是希臘那個。這個希臘神話，最少有兩個版本，較古老的一個源於史詩 作家希士奧突（Hysiod，元前八至七世紀人）；在此版本中，普羅米修斯只不過是因為一次惡作劇，把本來是眾神之王宙斯應得的美食給了人類，激怒了宙 斯，把火收起，讓人類不得熟食；但普羅米修斯硬要和他作對，偷得火種還給人類，結果招來宙斯重罰。這個版本的人文意義不強。我們現時熟知的版本，是二百年 之後的希臘悲劇作家埃斯庫盧斯（Aeschylus）筆下傑作。在這個版本裏，普羅米修斯的形象，起碼有三重崇高意義：一、敢於對不義的權威作道義的挑 戰；二、無懼壓迫與自由之間的永恒鬥爭；三、勇於打破利益的壟斷，以造福廣大人群。其後二千多年裏，人類政治歷史從專制到民主開放，其意義正好反映在埃斯 庫盧斯的作品之中，這大概是作者意想不到的。

　　火與政治的文化關係深刻而且久遠，非奧委會一句說話可以剔除乾淨；把「運動不涉政治」這句話推到極端，反而變成虛偽，今天發生在香港的事便是明證。這個火把，牽涉一點政治，本來無傷大雅，問題是什麼樣的政治。搞得太過難看，火把就難免令人「把火」或「把幾火」了。

Beijing snap shots - Apr 2008

Olympic Venue - Bird Nest & the cop

The Confucius Temple

Old house with new energy

China Snap Shot

Lonesome George

Just watched a very interesting documentary about the loneliest animal on the planet - Lonesome George. Lonesome George is the name given to the last remaining Pinta Island Giant Tortoise in existence; when he dies, his race will be completely extinct.

Due to his extremely rarity, Lonesome become a conservation icon, celibate pensioner and officially the rarest living creature on Earth of his native Galapagos Islands. Behind the conservation icon, he is also showing the crudeness and irresponsible of human activities that done to our own mother nature. Many wildlife is still in the hardship of preserving their unique life with threats from illegal fishing, the demands of a booming population and an ever-expanding tourism or so-called eco-tourism industry.

The documentary I watched called “Lonesome George and the battle for Galapagos” from BBC, and just showd in the Peral. It is very well filmed. It not only talks about the personal story of Lonesome but also brings out the social and environmental implications behind the tortoise.

The documentary made me a bit sad as it shows clearly how selfish and greedy of human being who extracts and squeezes the last sort of environmental resources for money (which is only papers attached with a vague value). For instance, the documentary mentioned that fishermen in Galapagos over fish the sea cucumbers and tortoises for their customers from far east ( I bet the majority of “far east customers: are Chinese….); national parks has to give out some land as residential or hotel areas for the influx immigrants due to the booming eco- tourism industry; fishermen got angry and attacked the conservation officials when the government imposed policy to prevent over-fishing…..it really sucks!!

Now what I can only grumble here... but i do hope that i can be more sensitive to reduce my personal footprint on our nature.

Story of Lonesome George

New missions for Super Mario, Master Chief & Kratos

For more information: Clash of the Consoles

Sexploitation

Here is a production of my friends.

The video shows that too much commercial are sexually objected a person for boosting sales, which is a phenomenon of "sex-exploitation" all around us. We should think about to "respect ourselves, resist conformity. Boycott the sexploitation economy".

Securitization of Environment

Recently I read few pieces of news about the correlation between war and climate change. This reminded me a report I read few years ago. It was a Pentagon study on the potential catastrophic consequences of national security related to climate change.

Rather than predicting how climate change will happen, the Pentagon report dramatized the impact of climate change could have on society if the nations are unprepared for it. It said that the destabilization of the geo-political environment may lead to skirmishes, battles, and even war due to resource constraints such as disrupted access to energy supplies, food and fresh water shortages. They also predicted that military confrontation may be triggered by a desperate need for natural resources rather than by conflicts over ideology, religion, or national honor. The increasing number of environmental refugees will become an un-neglectable issue too.

I was stunned at the first time when I read the report. Not because of its scary prediction, but how come this report can be released by the Pentagon when their head boss the Bush Government was expressing an opposing view and rejected to ratify of the Kyoto Protocol at that time.

Anyway, the US politic is always non-understandable. What I am happy to see is the discussion of both climate change and the concept of environmental security already moved into the mainstream. Not only has public awareness of climate change seemingly reached a tipping point, but the likely security repercussions of the unsettling changes to our planet’s climate are now increasingly acknowledged and analyzed. I am also happy to see that there is a sign that Australia will leave US itself alone and ratify the Kyoto Protocol soon. It is surely a very positive move that the international community is working together in combating the climate challenge.

Yet, there is still more to be discussed and to be worked on to protect our mother earth.

Wiser use of computer for our environment

Source: Operation Greenhouse Effect

Read an interesting news about how to be more environmentally friendly by activating the power management functions on our computer. It is said that it can save up to US$75 per year in your energy bill. Here you are:

1. Turning your computer off completely when you know you will not be using it for more than several hours, such as overnight.

2. Setting the power management functions on your computer to put both your monitor and computer (CPU, hard drive, etc.) into “sleep” mode after a certain amount of time of non-use. Set your monitor to go into standby mode first, followed by your computer.

Use the following guidelines to make sure your computer is properly sleeping:

1. Certain applications will run in the background and prevent your computer from going into sleep mode. Be sure to close these down completely.

2. If you use a virtual private network (VPN), disconnect it when you’re not actively using it.

3. Some applications which continually scan can prevent your computer from going into standby mode, such as Wi-Fi antennas & infrared ports. Anti-virus software can be set to scan more periodically yet still be safe.

4. Some Web sites will not allow your computer to enter into sleep mode because of active advertisements and banners. Close down all Web pages when you are not viewing them to allow your power management function to work properly.

5. If you have set a screensaver (like that fish tank) for your monitor, you may not realize that it is actually wasting energy by preventing your computer from going to sleep.

6. Unplug the peripherals when they are not charging or synchronizing as they also prevent the computer from going into standby or “sleep” mode.

More things you can do to help save energy in your computing use include:

1. Increase your memory (RAM) to reduce disk usage, which can be a power draw.

2. If you have a desktop computer, upgrade to an LCD flat panel monitor instead of a CRT monitor, which can account for half the energy use of a desktop computer.

3. Power supplies for your peripherals (such as your mobile phone or iPod) still draw power even if the peripheral is not plugged in. Switch them all off when you leave the room or go to sleep.

4. Shut off that printer. Printers also have a sleep mode that still consumes a significant amount of power.

5. Replace wireless mice and keyboards with wired mice. Wired mice and wired keyboards use relatively little energy and they avoid unnecessary wasting of batteries.

More information about offsetting your own carbon footprint :

Carbonfund.org

Carbon Footprint

Funny Signpost in China

Got some interesting pictures from my friend in mainland. These signposts are going to be fixed before the Beijing Olympic....

A brilliant commercial video

Lovely Kittens

The Shifting China

It is already ten years after Hong Kong’s handover back to China. These few weeks I found there are heaps of articles reviewing how the “one country two systems” performs in the last decade. I also started to read more Mainland publishing after coming back from Oz. The more I expose to these mainland publishing, the newer picture that I perceive about China. They also gave me some inspiration and retraction about what Hong Kong did and what Hong Kong has to do. Of course it is such a big issue to have any answer or conclusion at all.

Like most of Hong Kongers and Westerners, I rather relied on the messages about China provided by a sound-bite driven media that seesaws between playing on our fears of China’s Communism, state repression and human rights abuses or so. However, things are changing dramatically and people from outside is damn difficult to get a better understanding about what is happening inside the dragon land. People just wind up with mainly superficial portraits of that part of China that’s most visible to the eye and to the camera.

Having more exposure to the mainland media gives me a different understanding about what is happening. For no doubt the media censorship still exist, but seeing something that release under such strict censorship has sorts of implication. I just read an article in a mainstream Chinese magazine which is about the Democratic Party in Hong Kong. The article is very positive to comment on the Party and saying that the Central government should do something to engage the Democrats more. Currently, most democrats do not have the passport to go to the Mainland China. I am so amazed when I read this article. The point of view in the article is nothing new, but having such article in the mainland media does imply a lot and this is the point that makes me so surprised. Things are really changing and I couldn’t see such change reflect in any of the Hong Kong or foreign mass media.

I remembered I read an article and it said that “we maybe have a better shot figuring out the future of India– or even Mars – than China…… something as generic as a Big Mac can mean very different things depending on the context."

I have a very strong feeling we do need someone/something that can bring us illumination about China without blinding us with sensationalist stereotype or pre-set values. Though understanding Chinais going to remain irritatingly difficult.

Photo Source: sina.com.cn


Link: <南風窗>：一國如何兩制

Kitten 2 - Name to be confirmed....

Now


Before

Kitten 1 - Name to be confirmed....

Now

Before

The guys who I am living with...

Job nightmare

Job refers to the regular activity performed in exchange for payment. According to Aristotle, all paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind. Aristotle also said that “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work” and it is one of the attitude I apply to my working life all the time. I always have a belief that if I can choose a job I love, I will never have to work a day in my life. However, thing always doesn’t happen as we expected.

I am doing something I really don’t like at all. I never expected to be involved into the shitty tasks I am working on. Such shitty are not the duties my employer told me when they gave me the job offer. What I am working is completely different from the work I was told when I signed the 1-year employment contract, while such shitty duties were assigned to me just right before I passed probation. I have a very strong feeling that people around me are taking advantage of the limited employment time which does not give me any bargaining power with the boss(s). Short term contract employees are always the first tier to be exploited in a company.

I will not blame too much if I knew what I expected to do when I accepted the job offer, as it is my choice and I am always responsible to what I have chosen, no matter the outcome is good or not. But the case now is not what I chose, and I feel so powerless during the whole process. Of course, I can choose to resign but the resignation would have so much negative impact to my career in long term. I rejected few offers from other organisations of the industry I am working on when I accepted this offer from current organisation. And there is so few organisations and job vacancy within the industry in Hong Kong. So, it is so hard for me to work in the industry again if I resigned before my contract end normally. So, to certain extend, I am forced to stay as I am so devoted to work on the industry that I am working. My devotion is possibly one of the major sources of my powerlessness in this situation.

My everyday life is just a nightmare for me. This moment seems one of the worst moment in my life too as I have to force myself to do something I dislike without enough incentives. This is something really not in my blood…

(Well, i also feel that the "complain culture" among most Hong Kongers also finds in my blood... +_+)