Learning Cantopop 101

Each day of the year has a Cantopop milestone

 

I met up with a friend today for lunch and then afterwards we went to the fifth floor of Times Square in Causeway Bay where there is an exhibition called Cantopop 101.

Apparently there are three different shows tied to this, dividing Cantopop into different time periods from the 1980s to the 1990s, 1990s to the 2000s, and 2000s to 2010s.

On the exhibition boards made of particle board are clipboards, each with a piece of paper attached to it representing one day, so there are 365 of these sheets of paper, each hung by a clipboard. Each piece of paper meticulously charts what happened in the Hong Kong music scene on that day in different years.

Photos of Cantopop artist Joyce Cheng Yan-yee

It could be a particular singer was born, or a group was first formed, someone's first single was released, a concert was held, or someone died.

It's quite an impressive compilation of Cantopop trivia, but also I'm sure it evokes a lot of memories for people who grew up in these decades and listened to these artists.

There are a few Polaroid shots of artists today and they are signed. They aren't formal portraits, casual and fun.

In the middle of the room are some colourful stools. My friend told me that on specific days artists will come in and perform a "silent concert" where attendees wear headphones to listen. All the concerts have sold out already.

The curator of the show is Colin Mak, a DJ with 90.3FM. The exhibition includes a telephone booth-sized recording studio where attendees can record their feelings about the show and the best ones will be aired on his show.

The aforementioned compilation of the sheets of paper for every day of the year? They have also been made into a book, only 903 copies (the same number as the radio station 90.3), and they were sold out in minutes.

Cantopop memories in shape of tree

This shows how much people love Cantopop, how it has defined who they are, how much they want to preserve it, and worry about its future.

With the Communist Party recently bearing down on Hong Kong when it comes to movies and art, it won't be long before it impacts music, literature, plays, dance and operas.

There is also talk of encouraging more Mandarin to be used in Hong Kong... so what will happen to Cantopop?

A beautiful black and white graphic on the wall shows important musical milestones that start from 1931 and like rings on a tree, grow wider and wider, ending at around 2010. What will happen to this tree after 2021? Will it continue to grow or will it be chopped down soon?

Cantopop 101

Until July 1

Shop 5017-519, 5/F, Times Square, 1 Matheson Street

Causeway Bay

 

Picture of the Day: Pink and White Shower

The cassia javanica var. indochinesis is blossoming now

 Spring is definitely in Hong Kong, and one tree that has blossomed is the cassia javanica var. indochinesis (節果決明) -- and there are only a handful in Hong Kong, one of the oldest ones is at the boutique hotel The Murray Hong Kong in Central. 

It was originally from Hawaii and grows extensively through tropical Indochina. When it flowers in April and May, the tree is also nicknamed "pink and white shower".

Looking up at the pink and white shower

This type of tree usually has a lifespan of 50 to 60 years, but the one at The Murray, previously the government building called Murray Building, is actually around 70 years old.

As a result it is registered with the government tree registry as an old and valuable tree, or OVT.

But from a photography point of view it's actually quite hard to take a decent picture of it, as it looks nice from far away, but up close the blossoms are sparse, not like cherry blossoms.

Nevertheless, it was nice to capture the tree in the midst of its "pink and white shower", hopefully for a few more weeks to come. 

Picture of the Day: Emily Carr

Abstract Tree Forms is on show at the Vancouver Art Gallery now

The Vancouver Art Gallery has one of the best collections of BC artist Emily Carr's work. The museum's latest exhibition is called "Emily Carr: Into the Forest" focuses on one of her favourite topics, trees.

It also gives the VAG an opportunity to showcase Carr's work in a thematic way and showing her progression from a realist painter to more abstract.

One of the paintings I really liked was this one, called Abstract Tree Forms that was painted from 1931-32.

And in this case the tree has been pared down to sensual, curvaceous forms, and connecting one tree to the rest of the forest like undulating waves -- a sea of trees.

Nearby where this painting was hung was a timeline of Carr's life and it was interesting to note that in 1930, she had solo exhibitions in Ottawa, Victoria and Seattle. In the same year she also went to Toronto and New York, where she met American artist Georgia O'Keefe.

After that Carr paints this painting.

One can see clearly that in Abstract Tree Forms that O'Keefe's influence rubbed off on Carr.

We can only imagine the conversations they had! To be a fly on the wall back then! Both women were very independent, determined, stubborn, and they also had a mutual love for nature around them.

Emily Carr: Into the Forest

Until December 3, 2017

Vancouver Art Gallery

750 Hornby Street

Vancouver

www.vanartgallery.bc.ca

Hong Kong Needs to Cut Paper Use

Some 8 million lai see envelopes were collected last year

Just before Lunar New Year, many companies send me lai see envelopes and I try to give them to colleagues to use, or I keep them. So I was very pleased to find out I could take them to a collection point at my apartment building, where they would be picked up by an environmental group called Greeners Action.

Yesterday I took a bag of unused and used lai see envelopes to the box. I had so many that I had to ask the attendant to lift the lid of the box instead of putting them through the slot at the top of the lid, and when he did, I was pleased to find there were already stacks of red envelopes in there.

Please put your lai see envelopes in this box!

The NGO is trying to make people more aware of the garbage they are accumulating, and that things like lai see envelopes can be used again and again.

Greeners Action's executive director Angus Ho Hon-wai estimates that the amount of paper used to make the lai see envelopes amounts to 16,300 trees.

Seriously?

Does he mean skinny trees or very thick mature ones?

"It's an astronomical figure," Ho says. "I've looked at some numbers and it doesn't seem like other places with Chinese people distribute as much lai see as we do."

Not only that but many people in Hong Kong like to use crisp bills too to symbolize a new start to the Lunar New Year.

Last year Greeners Action collected about 8 million lai see envelopes -- about 30 tonnes in weight -- and about half of them were still good to reuse, the other half was recycled.

The envelopes are given out to people to use again

People have until February 22 to collect their lai see envelopes and drop them off in 500 collection points around the city, including shopping malls, Jockey Club betting stations, residential estates, hospitals and banks.

We should also keep in mind that the city threw out 2,257 tonnes of waste paper everyday -- a 17.5 percent increase from 2015. Hong Kong people really need to not only be more conscious of using paper, but also the government needs to educate them on how to recycle and help make recycling paper and other items a viable business.

Aftermath of Typhoon Nida

Lots of wind, rain and choppy seas when Typhoon Nida skirted nearby

Typhoon Nida came and went overnight, though in the morning it was still Typhoon signal No. 8.

Outside the winds were blowing north east, though within an hour, from 8am to 9am, the winds subsided somewhat and the water in Victoria Harbour looked much calmer.

Some trees were damaged during the typhoon

I needed to get to the office, and walking outside just before 10am it was not too windy with light showers. However, along Forbes Street in Kennedy Town where the Banyan trees cling to the walls, there were branches and leaves strewn everywhere.

The prediction the Hong Kong Observatory possibly raising the typhoon signal to No. 9 or even 10 was overrated, though there was some destruction on the roads, with trees falling down in Kowloon Tong, scaffolding falling over in Wan Chai, and very strong winds in certain pockets of the city, though overall it wasn't too dramatic.

But the No. 8 signal didn't come down to No. 3 until just before 1pm, which meant most people had the day off, or only came into work for three or four hours.

Lots of angry Cathay and Dragon Air passengers at the airport

However the typhoon created chaos at the airport, particularly for Cathay Pacific, scrambling to get hundreds of flights back into the air, and there were a lot of angry passengers whose patience was wearing very thin.

This evening it was nice and cool -- why can't it be like this all the time!

The weather in the next few days is expected to be unsettled, but tonight, there was not a drop of rain, and cool breezes.

Tree Appreciation

For Hong Kong visitors, the number of trees in the city makes a big impression

While I was in Vancouver, some relatives from Hong Kong came for a short visit for the first time.

We showed them around the usual spots -- Stanley Park, VanDusen Botanical Gardens, the University of British Columbia, Queen Elizabeth Park, Chinatown, Gastown, and so on.

It was interesting to see what they took pictures of, and what they were most thrilled about were the trees.

They were amazed to see so many trees in the city, in particular how large and tall they were.

Lots of greenery in Queen Elizabeth Park

Many times they commented about how Hong Kong doesn't know how to manage its trees well due to a lack of knowledge, and most of the time chops them down for fear that the branches will break off and fall, especially during typhoons, and doesn't want to take any chances.

Another reason is that the trees are somehow assigned to different departments and they manage them in their own way. There is a Tree Management Office, but it seems to coordinate with the various departments that have trees under their jurisdiction than have overall management of all the trees in the city.

This leads to an uncoordinated philosophy on how to look after trees in Hong Kong, and why some seem to be haphazardly chopped down, and others pruned to the point where the tree can't recover and eventually dies (and is chopped down).

Looking at the fairway at Point Grey Golf Club

Being in Vancouver, just being able to look up and see the blue skies and clouds so easily is something people there take for granted, because in Hong Kong, having a shoe box in the sky doesn't necessarily mean you have a zillion-dollar view. Some look directly into another person's flat a metre away. Or you have a sliver of a view if you crane your neck at a certain degree.

Seeing my relatives in awe of how trees are left to flourish in Vancouver made me even more acutely aware of how lucky the residents are to live in such a green environment.

I found myself paying more attention to them too, and how Hong Kong really needs to protect what trees it has left to create a more liveable place.

Memorable Garden Visit

It was a bit chilly and overcast, but we were pleased to wander VanDusen!

I recently hosted some relatives from Hong Kong visiting Vancouver and they were on their first trip to North America. They had toured a good part of the west coast, seeing places like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Yellowstone Park, the Grand Canyon, San Francisco and Seattle.

Japanese blood grass can be found in the gardens

They came up to Vancouver for less than 48 hours but we made the most of it. Yesterday I took them to VanDusen Botannical Garden, and it was my first time to visit during the day, as the previous times I've been there is for the Festival of Lights, when the place is decorated with Christmas lights.

When we arrived just after 11.30am, a tour was just about to start so we joined in and it made our visit infinitely better. Our guide took us to interesting places around the garden and told us fascinating facts about not only the history of VanDusen, but also the various trees and flowers in it.

We also saw this near perfect lotus flower in bloom

The 22 hectare garden has over 7,500 kinds of plants in it from various countries, some of which are extinct in their original habitat. Originally the area was the Shaughnessy Golf Course owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway and management decided it would be good to sell the land to developers.

However, the women golfers protested, saying the place should remain a green space. Eventually the city bought it, but not without funds from wealthy lumberman and philanthropist Whitford Julian VanDusen.

Our guide suggested that it was probably his wife who encouraged him to put up the funds to buy the garden, as she was an avid gardener.

You don't want to mess with the giant rhubarb at night!

After it was successfully purchased, the garden was developed by WC Livingston, who the guide explains, didn't have formal training in designing gardens, but apparently had a talent for it. A large lake is named Livingston Lake in his honour, and it's quite large, with waterlilies in it, as well as a few ducks hanging around.

The garden was opened in 1975 and there are some trees that have been there since the golf course's existence, like a cluster of tall and skinny Douglas Firs and cedars.

We saw some interesting things like Japanese blood grass -- large, long and thick strands of grass that have red tips on them, while the giant rhubarb have massive round leaves, but aren't very friendly; underneath are numerous spikes!

The soft trunk of the sequoia tree

She told us about several of the trees in the garden. There's a Lebanese cedar, but none grow in its native country anymore, while our guide explained indigenous people used cedar trees for a number of things, from the wood to make boats, to the bark to make clothes. She also said they would also conduct rituals to thank the tree for giving them the things they needed.

We saw a sequoia or coast redwood and she invited us to touch the trunk. It was surprisingly soft for an old tree. Our guide said when there are wildfires, the trees are hard to kill off completely because they store so much water in them, which is why their trunks are soft. Also the pine cones hold seeds that don't open unless they are heated by fire.

We saw many kinds of Japanese maple trees, and an interesting aspect of its propagation is that the seeds are shaped with wings so that they can be carried far away by the wind.

Another curious tree is the Princess tree that seems to have eyes drawn on its trunk. She said it was native to western and central China, where families grow these trees when a girl is born. By the time she is ready to be married, the tree's wood is used to build her chest that will hold her trousseau.

Beautiful roses still in bloom in the Rose Garden

The garden also has a maze that kids like to run around in, as well as an impressive waterfall that has the meaning of embarking on a spiritual journey. At the top of the manmade waterfall is a rock garden that's a bit primitive in its presentation, but draws its inspiration from Japanese philosophy.

Our tour ended almost two hours later at the Rose Garden. It's a pity we were in between blooming seasons -- the next spurt will be in August -- but we managed to find a few still in early bloom.

While we didn't cover the entire park, the amount of information we absorbed during our tour was memorable and all afternoon my relatives and I were so thankful to have come across the tour, as we all learned so much from it.

People taking picture of the Princess tree

VanDusen Botannical Garden

5251 Oak Street

Vancouver
(604) 257 8335

How do You Dry Your Hands?

How many sheets of paper towels do you use each day? Month? Year?

Some interesting trivial information today -- Hong Kong people's knowledge of environmental issues is still pathetic, as a study has found seven out of 10 residents would choose using a paper towel over an electric hand dryer.

While only 465 people were polled by business chamber JCI Lion Rock and environmental group World Green Organization, almost half of those questioned thought paper towels were better because they could be recycled which is not true.

"Paper towels cannot be recycled because they get wet, their fibres are too short, they're bleached and are contaminated once used," explained Dr William Yu Yuen-ping, WGO chief executive.

Do you mind using an electric hand dryer? Or takes too long?

This I did not know, but now I do.

The survey found 70 to 80 percent of those polled used fewer than 10 sheets of paper towel a day, one fifth used more, and at least 3 percent used more than 26 sheets daily. DAILY.

The researchers calculated that would mean those people surveyed used about 3,610 sheets of paper towel a day, or 1.3 million a year. For the entire Hong Kong, that would mean 55 million sheets of paper towel thrown into landfills daily and more than 20 billion per year, which equates to 583,321 trees a year.

Do people understand what's involved in making paper towels and how we kill so many trees just so we can wipe our hands? When I go to the washroom particularly at the office, I'm mortified when I see people using more than one paper towel to wipe their hands and then throwing it thoughtlessly into the garbage bin.

Imagine huge swathes of this forest gone to make paper towels

The government wants to decrease the amount of solid waste by 40 percent by 2022, but if people keep throwing out paper towels, how can the amount be cut down if at all?

Yu says the government needs to do more to promote public awareness of the problem and we agree. How about mandating that all offices, shopping malls and restaurants must install electric hand dryers? Or as Yu says, get people into the habit of carrying their own handkerchief?

And while we're at it, how about reminding people we don't have unlimited supplies of water that, by the way, come from China?

Hong Kong seems to have no care about running itself into the ground...