Sunday, October 28, 2007

Democracy

I remembered this series of novel I read when I was in secondary school called the Legend of Galactic Heroes. There were these two countries, one with democracy but bad politicians, another controlled by a good emperor who governed justly.

I used to really believe in democracy to be something worth fighting for. Especially while I was in college and in the years 2003-2004. (I joined the first two July the 1st rallies.)

Then as I see all these politicians crazily attacking each other while making all these empty promises for votes. I wonder if universal suffrage will make Hong Kong a better place.

However, recently, my views changed again when I see all the injustices. Now like Yang Wenli in the book- the Legend of the Galactic Heroes, I believe the worst of all democratic countries is still better than the worst of all totalitarian countries.

I don't like the democrats in HK but the DAB is really worse... (I have finally read this famous or infamous essay Martin Lee wrote. And I have to say I can't find any fault with this.)

I think the most important thing for China is not democracy, I don't think the Chinese population is ready for it yet. When will China have the Rule of Law?
(Watch the latest HK Connection documentary on Chinese lawyers if you're interested.)

Without democracy and the rule of Law, even basic human rights can be lost. It's just plain sad to watch the documentary. These lawyers are so courageous.

公盟

Thursday, October 25, 2007

What do you think this is??



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Sex toy?? No!

This is actually a COMPUTER!!! I don't mean a robot... I mean it's actually a computer...

Don't believe me... Read more here...

This "Ten Commandments" computer is really unbelievable as well...

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Items you never know could be recycled

Did you know eyeglasses, foam packaging, shoes (!), carpets, jeans, iPods can be recycled??!!!

Some of the things on the list I knew about, e.g. CDs, monitors, printer cartridges, batteries... but seriously... eyeglasses!! and shoes!!

Read more here.

The fabulous Dumbledore?

Dumbledore is gay, 'Harry Potter' author reveals

She then explained that Dumbledore was smitten with rival Gellert Grindelwald, whom he defeated long ago in a battle between good and bad wizards. "Falling in love can blind us to an extent," Rowling said of Dumbledore's feelings, adding that Dumbledore was "horribly, terribly let down."

Dumbledore's love, she observed, was his "great tragedy."

I've never been a great Harry Potter fan. I've read the books apart from the last one. (I've been waiting until after my exams to read it since I'm not particularly looking forward to it.) Seriously I have never even thought about the possibility of Dumbledore being gay, for me he's just a great grandfatherly character. What strikes me are the last two paragraphs in this piece of the news...

Rowling, finishing a brief "Open Book Tour" of the United States, her first tour here since 2000, also said that she regarded her Potter books as a "prolonged argument for tolerance" and urged her fans to "question authority."

Not everyone likes her work, Rowling said, likely referring to Christian groups that have alleged the books promote witchcraft. Her news about Dumbledore, she said, will give them one more reason.


Seriously, what kind of impression are "Christians" giving now??

What kind of reader I am!

What Kind of Reader Are You?
Your Result: Dedicated Reader

You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.

Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You?
Create Your Own Quiz


What kind of horrible code is this??!! The red bars only shows up in IE, not Firefox, I have no idea how to fix this, but I could see the bars in the original website after I did the quiz with Firefox...

Monday, October 22, 2007

Travelling to Afghanistan: Stupid but interesting?

I have just read this interesting story on a Western woman's trip to Afghanistan to celebrate her own birthday.

No ordinary trip: Visiting Afghanistan

I wish I have the courage and the opportunity to go. =P

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Whitening masks

I seldom use whitening products apart from sunscreen.

When I watched the TVB report last Tuesday about whitening and tanning product, I was surprised to hear that some whitening masks actually contain fluorescent substances to make your face whiter!!

I found this report on Consumer Council's website... there're bacteria as well... scary...

Imagine your face glowing in the dark... =P

Monday, October 15, 2007

Stop buying Bottled Water

Bloggers Unite - Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day, and the topic is on environmental protection. I've decided to challenge you guys to do one thing to help the earth that should be possible for all of you.

After some thinking, I've come up with bottled water.

Apart from my wallet and my keys, there are two things I bring every day wherever I go. One is umbrella, the second is bottled water. I use the same bottle over and over until it gets old, and refill the water at home/work/church.

It is plainly unwise to buy bottled water- both financially and environmentally. Recycling/reusing them is easy to do, and helps the environment.

According to a 2001 report of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), roughly 1.5 million tons of plastic are expended in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year.

Besides the sheer number of plastic bottles produced each year, the energy required to manufacture and transport these bottles to market severely drains limited fossil fuels. Bottled water companies, due to their unregulated use of valuable resources and their production of billions of plastic bottles have presented a significant strain on the environment.

From PBS.org
"There's been a major public relations campaign launched to convince the people that bottled water is safer, and better, and purer than tap water; what our study found is: it ain't necessarily so."

And a story of a guy who broke up with his girlfriend because he refused to pay for a new bottled water.

I thought I was extreme already, carrying all the bottles in my bag until I can find a recycle bin, even when they are all empty and even when I'm travelling overseas. (I also do the same thing with paper. I never put paper into rubbish bin. =P) Btw, my water bottle is regularly cleaned.

The problem of reusing is that water stored in old plastic bottles are of poorer quality, no one is sure of the long term effects, but for most of the stuff we use, we're not sure of the long term effect anyway, so it's ok for me. If you're really afraid, you can buy a safer reusable water bottle. Scroll down this page to see safer water bottles.

PLEASE START HELPING THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHATEVER WAY YOU CAN STARTING FROM TODAY!!

Check out my other blog for another environmentally related post.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Buying English Books in HK

The biggest English bookstore in Hong Kong must be PageOne, I have never bought any books there. The books are so expensive, and most of the time I can't find the books I want there.

I usually shop first by choosing a book at Amazon.com, you can browse through parts of the book after entering details of a valid credit card. (They won't charge you for it, I guess that's just to make sure you can actually buy a book.) Then I'll buy the book at Paddyfield.com. You can buy a book there at the original price. And you can get free delivery for purchases over HK$150.

I have recommended this online bookstore to many of my friends. (I thought many of my friends knew, then I discovered some still don't, that's why I am writing this post.) Try it if you want to save money on your books.

I still can't find a good English second hand book store on the Kowloon side (to sell my books) yet. (I'm too lazy to drag all my books to one I found in Central.) Please tell me if you know of any.

GROW old together??

I remembered reading an article on the newspaper about the story of a wife who decided she had to break up with her husband because he did not grow at the same pace with her over the years of their marriage.

I know how that can happen. Even when two people are together, their pace and direction can be remarkably different. And when one grows really differently, the other will also be affected.

Even if you're in love and in synchrony the day you're married, how can you know that this person will grow like you in the future?

On the other hand, is that a justified ground for a divorce??

I have finally read this book (and I'll write about it later on my other blog), and... I am too lazy to type it up or scan it, so sorry for the poor quality.

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I guess it's also true for non-Christian marriages, in the old days, marriage was not as fragile when individual personality was not that emphasized. Marriage was about family more than about individual then, and it was much more likely that couples could grow old together.

P.S. I have finished writing a brief review here.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Promotion

I don't know about other professions, in mine, explicit promotion is forbidden.

A few days ago, I browsed through a very popular blogger's Facebook profile. (He's also in my profession, but I don't know him personally, though we have quite a few common friends actually according to Facebook =P. And I don't like reading his blog, but I know about him.)

He listed his business address & phone number on his profile page.

I don't know how effective this kind of promotion is, or if it's intended to be a promotion maybe it's just a way of correspondence, though I do not think that is the case. I guess with a popular blogs, you can pretty much promote anything. It's easier than getting someone to interview you on TV. Or posing in the nude for magazine covers like a certain lawyer. =P

October 15

If you know me, you'll know my concern for the environment. This year, the theme for Blog Action Day is environment. Join in if you have a blog.

Bloggers Unite - Blog Action Day

Macbook



Saw this in a shop last week... WOW!! It's so good looking!!! (The picture above simply doesn't do it justice.) And so small!! I want to buy it, but my Fujitsu notebook is working really fine... =P Maybe I'll buy it as a gift to myself if I pass my exams...

However, I'll need to buy Microsoft Office for Mac if I'm really gonna use it... and it's real expensive... hmm...

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Book Storage

The problem with my love for reading is how to store books.

I have ran out of shelves for putting books on long ago and started storing books in boxes. However, they got so high, I can't even get them down... I have recently bought two more boxes to put under my bed...

And then there's the problem of storing paperback. I don't know why the quality of paper of English paperbacks are so much poorer than that of Chinese books. (And I don't read Chinese books much these days.) They got yellowish much more quickly. (Probably want us to buy hardcovers, but I can't buy hardcovers for every book! Not every book has the hardcover version anyway...)

I tried a lot of ways and still my books are deteriorating rapidly.

I have seriously considered e-books, but I really hate reading from the screen and it's just different to curl up in your bed with a real book.

Here's my latest investment in an attempt to protect my books and conserve the environment... a bit expensive tho...

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Supposed to be a dehumidifier... wonder if it works...

Any good ways to protect your books you can share??

Here's some info I found years ago, I've been following most of the advice as far as possible. (No air-conditioning room for storage I'm afraid. =P) Still...

William?? I don't like William... hmm...



What Kind of Guy Will You Fall For?

You would fall for the gentleman. Keep an eye out for your love at your next formal or field trip to the opera. Watch out for bad boys who walk on the inside of the curb and don't hold the door for you, and you'll end up with the guy who's suave, sophisticated, and classy through-and-through.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Monday, October 01, 2007

A Fistful of Charms


The first half of the book is like non-stop adventure with lots of surprises, I loved it! The second half is not that great tho, it's good, just not great. The adventure is still non-stop, but I can't help feeling the plot is being dragged on and on, even when there're still plenty of action. It took way too long to for them execute the plan they had come up with in the middle of the book. That combined with the lack of Kristen, the development of Rachel's relationship with Ivy, the continued presence of Nick whom I have come to dislike with this book really dampened my enjoyment of this book.

One problem I can foresee is that the sexual relationship between Ivy and Rachel seems to be inevitable and I really do NOT want that to happen. (I don't know why, I'm okay with reading about Jules & Robin, Lord John & Percy.)

However, I'd rather read about Rachel the bi than Anita Blake the Second. Ms Harrison, just please don't turn Rachel Morgan into Anita the Second.

I'm waiting for the paperback of For a Few Demons More. I don't think I'll buy a hardcover.