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The Days We Wear Masks 20210213
Poon choi – a communal dish of foods served in layers whose name means “big bowl feast” – was traditionally eaten on festive occasions in villages in the Pearl River Delta, including Hong Kong’s New Territories.
In recent decades, restaurants started serving the dish – and at some, it became a luxurious affair. Now, with social distancing rules threatening to put a dampener on Lunar New Year celebrations, poon choi has evolved again – into a takeaway dish for home feasting.
With the Lunar New Year starting on February 12, the current dining restrictions make it difficult for families and relatives to gather in restaurants to celebrate the upcoming Year of the Ox, which is why restaurants are now offering poon choi as takeaway options to enjoy at home with loved ones.
(20210120 SCMP)
Walking down one of the small side streets that turn off the main spine of Sittwe, the birthplace of political monks in Myanmar. It was the birthplace of U Ottama, the first monk who protested against the colonial British in Myanmar. Also, in the recent 2007 riots, it was the monks in Sittwe who started the protest against the Military Government in Myanmar.
The Days We Wear Masks 20210131
More recognition and protection should be given to nearly 400,000 migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong, especially to those suffering from heavy workload and unfair treatment during the pandemic.
“Migrant workers are frontliners (who fight against the pandemic) as well. We are the ones who look after the cleanliness (hygiene) of the house, going in and out of the house to get food and protective materials for families,” says Shiela Tebia-Bonifacio, chairperson of Gabriela Hong Kong, an alliance supporting Filipinos in the city.
“Many of us cannot go out and some are not compensated well for overtime work. If you don’t have your own room, what can you do inside the house? You work. Do you expect migrant workers to sit down with their boss on the sofa on Sunday?” Tebia-Bonifacio says. “Before COVID-19, migrant workers are already complaining, some are working 16-20 hours a day, staying up till 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. Now it’s worse,” Tebia-Bonifacio adds.
These frontliners in the city’s battle against the pandemic not only need to bear heavier workload and hardship at work amid the pandemic, some are forced to live with their employers when they are tested positive for COVID-19 or had close contacts with the infected. （varsity.com.cuhk.edu.hk）
The Days We Wear Masks 20210225
In view of a number of recent Covid infections related to household sewage pipe leaks, the Hong Kong Institute of Water and Sanitation Safety suggested that citizens can make use of a soapy water leak test to ensure their household pipes are intact.
The president of the institute Chan Hon-fai said some pipes in older buildings may have small cracks, or the residents may have made changes to the pipes themselves, causing the virus being carried on air currents inside the pipes leaking into the households.
“You can coat the water pipe linkages with soapy water using a paint brush, basting brush or a sponge. If soap bubbles form after you apply the soapy water, it shows there is a leak, which may cause the spread of the virus” said Chan.
He also urged authorities to mandate members of the public to have their pipes checked by qualified personnel once in every three to five years, similar to the current mandatory window inspection scheme.
(20201231 The Standard)
Tanah Lot is a rock formation off the Indonesian island of Bali. It is home of a pilgrimage temple, the Pura Tanah Lot and a popular tourist and cultural icon for photography and general exoticism.
Moongazers in Hong Kong were out in force on Wednesday evening for the rare cosmic event known as the "super blood moon". While some said they enjoyed the occasion, others were left disappointed, saying the moon was mostly hiding behind the clouds.
Before nightfall, scores of people carrying cameras and tripods were already seen in Shek O, Quarry Bay and Whampoa, considered to be the prime spots for the phenomenon.
Under the super blood moon, a full lunar eclipse coincides with a supermoon, which is when the moon is particularly close to Earth and appears brighter than normal.
And for about 15 minutes, the moon appears to turn red as it moves fully into Earth's shadow.
Hong Kong last witnessed the phenomenon over 20 years ago, and it won't happen here again for another 12 years, which was why some people at the Whampoa waterfront told RTHK they came early to get the best viewing spot.
"I took a couple of hours off to come here a bit earlier, just to make sure I can secure a good spot," Linda said.
"It's pretty exciting because things are happening at the same time, you have the moon eclipse, the supermoon and the blood moon... I think it's quite an extraordinary experience."
Hundreds of people eventually filled the promenade, but their spirits were quickly dampened by the clouds after 7 pm, when the lunar eclipse was supposed to take place.
"There're too many clouds, around 80 percent of the time they shrouded the moon," a moongazer surnamed Lam complained.
"And I can't see the reddish colour, I only see a white moon."
Still, there were those who were happy with the experience.
"Although it is cloudy, we can still take some beautiful photos," said Angela, who came with her friends.
She said she did not mind waiting for an hour just to catch glimpses of the moon from time to time.
"When it comes out from the clouds again, it is more exciting for us."
She said she will gladly go moongazing again 12 years later when the super blood moon reappears here.
(20210526 RTHK News)
Apple reinvents the phone. Imagine Apple's typically easy to use computer software interface, like a touchscreen keypad when you need to dial. When you want to watch a video, it's got a screen bigger then the Video iPod. Suddenly, the phone interface isn't fixed and rigid, it's fluid and molten. Software replaces hardware. The traditional phone is obsolete for all the things it's become. This integrated device is driven by a mini-computer with a web browser that displays regular websites instead of the stripped down versions of all phones and mobile devices today. It also happens to be a phone, a camera, and a video iPod as well. Apple is hoping that the iPhone takes off like it's iPod forefather. Today, Apple stocks went up while cell phone companies' went down across the board.
MacWorld EXPO 2007, Moscone Center, San Francisco.
A bar carved from a huge block of ice outside a downtown Minneapolis office building, provided an interesting place to stop for a "bump".
I couldn't pass up the fellow asking ice for his drinik. Personally, I prefer a nice snifter of something in a cozy pub with a fireplace and a charming companion.😊😊
Supporters of the irreverent Apple Daily waited from late last night to buy their copy of the final issue of the newspaper, which is folding after a 26-year run that often rattled the establishment.
The paper's final print run is a million copies.
The daily, featuring an apple on its masthead and published by the jailed tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, has no financial resources to keep going. Its last remaining assets were seized by the government under the national security law this week and its editor was arrested and charged.
(20210624 The Standard)
Hong Kong's fifth Covid-19 wave turns busy streets into surreal empty spaces.
The city looks eerily empty as work from home arrangements and tightened social-distancing rules grip the city. （20220218 SCMP)
Durga Puja is one of the largest Hindu festivals that involves worship of Goddess Durga symbolising power and triumph of good over evil in Hindu mythology.
Vijaya Dashami
Also known as Dashain or Tenth day of Navratri or Durgotsav, Vijaya Dashami commemorates the day that Durga appeared riding a lion to slay the Mahisasura. Statutes of Durga are paraded through the streets, then immersed in water.
festival cruise '22 - men with stylish hats observing the women's dance troupe. (see next - flic.kr/p/2nk4git )
Fire Arts Studio in Minneapolis is always an interesting place. At a recent art show held in the studio that reminds me of Vulcan's forge this piece of equipment was spouting flames.
Not sure what was in it, but I thought it was an interesting picture. Sending the pix I took that day to the owner/instructor/artist, the charming Heather Doyle.
Cuban Taxi (6)
The older cars and a lack of access to spare parts or imports meant Cubans became very proficient mechanics, using what materials they could find and bolt together.
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Closed schools and restaurants offering takeout only. Lines around the block at testing sites. Politicians on television urging the public to stay calm.
If the scenes around Taiwan this week have a distinctly early pandemic feel, it is because the coronavirus is only now washing up on the island’s shores in force. A crush of new infections has brought a swift end to the Covid-free normality that residents had been enjoying for more than a year.
On April 14, the government began allowing crew members for Taiwanese airlines to quarantine at home for just three days after arriving on long-haul flights, down from the previous requirement of five days.
A week later, China Airlines, Taiwan’s flag carrier, told the government that one of its pilots had tested positive in Australia. Health officials began expanding testing for airline workers. Soon, more pilots and their family members were testing positive, as were employees at a quarantine hotel.
On May 10, a pilot who had been in the United States tested positive after completing his three-day quarantine, but not before he had visited a pub and a restaurant in Taipei.
All China Airlines crew members were ordered into rolling 14-day home quarantines. But it was probably too late. A cluster of infections began to emerge among workers and patrons at so-called hostess bars in Taipei’s Wanhua District.
By the end of the week, daily case numbers had soared into the triple digits.
So far, the search for new infections has been concentrated in the populous cities of Taipei and New Taipei, where more than 1,600 people can receive rapid testing each day. Hospitals are also providing slower testing services.
(20210521 The New York Times)
Police say they suspect a KMB bus driver may have been speeding when he lost control of his double-decker near Tai Po on Saturday, killing at least 19 people and injuring over 60, in Hong Kong's worst bus accident in nearly 15 years.
The bus had been travelling downhill at the time of the accident. It toppled over and ended up on its left side, a large part of its roof apparently sheared off.
Eighteen people, 14 men and four women, died at the scene. Another man man died later in hospital. Amongst the injured, three were women and 63 were men - including the man who later died.
The 30-year-old driver was arrested for dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm. He has been detained for further enquiries.
The number 872 bus had been on its way to Tai Po from Shatin racecourse when the accident occurred near Tsung Tsai Yuen on Tai Po Road.
Footage showed dazed and injured passengers sitting and lying on the kerb.
The Fire Services Department said it took firefighters 85 minutes to rescue all of the passengers trapped inside the bus.
A department spokesman, Leung Kwok-chu, said when rescuers arrived, they found many passengers piled up on top of each other.
"During the rescue operation, we encountered quite a number of difficulties, including the narrow space, a large number of casualties and also we had to carry out the cutting operations," Leung also told reporters at the scene.
The ambulance services said the injured had suffered head and back injuries, bone fractures and bleeding.
Li Chi-wai, senior superintendent of the police’s New Territories North traffic unit, said apart from the speed of the bus, officers will look into the mental state of the driver and the mechanical parts of the bus.
There were reports that the driver had been in an argument with passengers before the journey, though Li only said they would ask witnesses for more information later.
The Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, has said she will set up an independent commission of inquiry to look into whether there is a systematic problem with Hong Kong's bus operations, following the accident.
RTHK News 2018.02.11
“Imagine” by John Lennon
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us, only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people living life in peace
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one