Bug identification help sought!

Tiny insect spotted while hiking last Sunday
in Sai Kung East Country Park

A furry looking bug spotted hanging from
the back side of a bench on the same hike

A little more than a month ago, I put up an interesting looking bugs encountered while hiking blog entry. At the risk of coming across as bug obsessed, here's posting another such entry -- this time with photos of bugs my regular hiking companion and I set eyes upon for the first time ever on our traipses through and in the Hong Kong countryside last Sunday.

We encountered the first bug -- an insect which I first spotted after it leaped like a cricket onto the path we were on -- early on in our hike. A shy thing, it proceeded to play hide and seek with us as it tried to elude our attempts to capture its image with our cameras before apparently going off and summoning a whole bunch of its friends -- because even though it was the first bug of its kind that we had ever seen, in the next hour or so, we ended up catching sight of many other examples of this species (a few of which we also witnessed flying short distances -- or maybe their jumps are so high and long that they it makes them look like they're flying when they're actually not!).

Not long after our first "new" bug species encounter of the day, my regular hiking companion and I came across a furry looking creepy crawly literally hanging from a thread in the middle of the same path and blowing in the wind. Although we devoted some time to trying to take good photos of that particular bug, none turned out to be all that great due to it being on the small side and moving about too much for our cameras' comfort.

As luck would have it, after giving up on that shutter bug attempt, we would come across two more examples of the same species that were easier to photograph: one because it was dead and thus still; and the other (the bug in the second photo above) because it was larger in size than the other two of its species we saw that day and actually stayed so still for a time that we wondered if it too were dead, only for it to move away and hide a minute or so later after it had stayed put long enough for us to take majorly close-up shots of it!

So... can anyone ID either or both of the bugs in the photo? If so, please do so on the comments thread of this entry -- and you'll earn the gratitude of my regular hiking companion and I who are truly curious as to what we saw (as well as puzzled as to how come in all our years of hiking, last Sunday was the first time we encountered -- or at least noticed -- these creepy crawlies!).

More than by the way, for those who didn't know already, if you click on this blog's photos, you'll get to see enlarged versions of the images. So feel free to do so and enjoy?! :b

Triangle (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

Tnchick sure does like triangles! That was my reaction after seeing this week's theme -- for I've put up Photo Hunt entries on this theme not once but twice before (on April 11th, 2009 and July 7th, 2010) !! So it was a triple more difficult challenge than usual to come up with a fresh addition to her meme... which triply increases the sense of accomplishment upon actually being able to do so. :)

In keeping with the triple triangle theme, I'm offering up three photos in this week's entry. This time around, I've gone with a blend of nature and culture -- in terms of human activity (specifically leisure boating) amidst a scenic natural backdrop in one case and a mix of buildings and greenery in two others, but all of them featuring distinctly shaped hilly peaks.

The first shot features the aptly-named Sharp Peak in the background along with a small boat with triangular sails. And although the photo in the middle (with the benign side of famously treachorous High Junk Peak viewable in the distance) might seem at first glance like it was taken on the same body of water bordering the northern portion of the Sai Kung Peninsula as the top most snap, it actually shows a boat sailing in Victoria Harbour just like in the third photo (whose skyline is dominated by Kowloon Peak) -- only in a much less busy part of the natural deep harbor that is a major jewel in Hong Kong's crown (and one that's bordered by less built up areas of land)! :b

Dangerous Encounter -- 1st Kind and post-screening Tsui Hark Q&A

Tsui Hark listens and waits to reply while
Broadway Cinematheque's Gary Mak asks a question

Dangerous Encounter -- 1st Kind (Hong Kong, 1980)
- Tsui Hark, director
- Starring Lin Chen Chi, Lo Lieh, Albert Au, Lung Tin Sang and Paul Che

Say Le French May and one generally thinks of a French performing arts show (like The Anamoly Company's Anatomy-Anomaly "new circus" production) or art exhibition (such as Hong Kong-based French photographer Matthieu Paley's An Ethereal World) taking place in the month of May. But this year, the cultural festival includes a gem-filled film noir retrospective program of Hong Kong as well as French films that has been partly curated by Johnnie To; the absolutely "must see" of which for me undoubtedly is the director's cut version of Tsui Hark's still officially-banned-from-commercial-screening-in-Hong Kong's third movie.

In a Q&A session after the screening I attended late last Saturday, Tsui Hark talked of his shock upon being told by the authorities that his admittedly ultra violent film revolving around four angry, anarchic youth had been banned on the grounds that it might encourage copycat behavior; and this particularly because his work had been inspired by a then contemporary news report of angry, anarchic youth having made and let off bombs.

More than 30 years on, it strikes me as rather absurd to think that this nihilistic offering would encourage people to emulate its anti-heroes; this not least since (*spoiler warning*) the majority of them meet such violent ends (*end spoiler*). At the same time, however, there is no hiding the intensity of the disconnect with the larger society felt by the three schoolboys (Albert Au, Lung Tin Sang and Paul Che) and recently fired female blue collar worker (Lin Chen Chi) who doesn't look that much different in age from them who are the focus of this emotional -- and yes, political -- effort that begins with a fairly harmless prank but quickly and maniacally (d)evolves into so much more.

Three schoolmates -- two living in cramped public housing, one the scion of a well-to-do family -- get together to create a small bomb and set it off inside a cinema seemingly just for the hell of it. Their exultant celebration of the success of their scheme is prematurely cut short by the realization that a young woman can ID them as the responsible parties for the incident, and that she wants to effectively blackmail them into carrying out acts even they might think is beyond the pale.

But trouble truly only comes after they have a violent encounter with an American mercenary and get their hands on a rich stash of Japanese bank drafts that he had with him -- and that the American mercenary's merciless boss badly wants back. And lest it not be clear: nothing, not even the fact that the young woman's brother (Lo Lieh) is a tough police detective, is going to stand in their way in their bid to retrieve their valuables...

At the conclusion of the film's screening, an enthusiastic round of applause broke out in the cinema hall. And if the work's director hadn't been clear that Dangerous Encounter -- 1st Kind had won many fans in that screening's audience, I'm sure he was left with little doubt of this fact by the end of the one hour Q&A he generously stayed to do -- a session that was filled with more than one voice telling him in no uncertain terms how they preferred this very sincerely-felt Hong Kong movie to his more recent works (including multiple Hong Kong Film Awards winner Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame which, incidentally, did not make my top ten Hong Kong films of 2010 list).

***

For the record: the Q&A session was conducted mainly in Cantonese, with Gary Mak translating both questions and answers into English. However, two people, including myself, asked questions in English -- and Tsui Hark directly responded to them in English that is far more perfect than one might expect of the maker of a film with such infamously fractured English subtitles as Peking Opera Blues.

Re the two questions I asked: the first was whether he would ever make a Hong Kong movie again (like Dangerous Encounter: First Kind clearly is and such as Detective Dee... and All About Women patently are not). Like he did all evening, Tsui Hark didn't decline to answer or anything of the sort. Instead, after telling me "That's a very good question!", he confessed that he has asked himself precisely that -- and proceeded to explain in some detail that this was due to "the market" having changed and funding for films being far harder to come by these days in Hong Kong than Mainland China.

The second query I had for the auteur, I told him, came from his mention of Shanghai Blues earlier in the Q&A (as a work in which he tried to be more optimistic in reaction to similar things and situations as those had inspired him to make Dangerous Encounter -- 1st Kind). More specifically, I wanted to know if a third Blues movie had ever been planned (to complete what would then have been a Blues trilogy) -- and if so, might this third Blues movie be Hong Kong Blues?

Tsui Hark openly confirmed that there indeed had been a third Blues movie planned. But around the time that he had started to think in earnest of making it, "the market" had changed. Consequently, he had had to put this plan on the backburner... And while he seemed left unsaid that some day, he might like to return to this project and bring it to fruition, in another part of the Q&A, he did talk about how he was trying to not only work in the current system and condition but, also, see what and how else he could do in down the road.

All in all, it was very interesting to hear Tsui Hark talk at such length -- and to find that he seems to have that mix of idealism (still) and pragmatism with regards to film making that I first encountered in conversations with Peter Chan Ho San. Almost needless to say, I came away from this experience with a renewed sense of respect for him -- and in no small part because he never condescended to the audience and, instead, treated them very much as people with a fellow deep love and care for Hong Kong cinema.

My rating for the film: 9

My rating for that evening's film experience: suffice to say that I consider it to be among the highlights of my more than four years in Hong Kong thus far! :)

A scenic Lantau Island hike (photo-essay)

At long last, I get to putting up a photo-essay of that which got my vote for best hike of 2010: one that saw my regular hiking companion and I going along the Nei Lak Shan Country Trail which had been closed for a time due to landslide damage -- and, to judge from our having only encountered one other hiker along the way, few folks seem to have realized has been re-opened.

A circular route that goes around Nei Lak Shan (which, at 751 meters (or 2,464 feet) is Hong Kong's sixth highest hill), it offers up scenic views of Ngong Ping (including the Ngong Ping 360 cable car route and the Big Buddha), Lantau Peak, Tung Chung town and more. So yes, I took plenty of photos on this hike -- of which the following are just a choice eight of them:-

Unlike just the week before, the day we hiked
the Nei Lak Shan Country Trail in its entirety
was one that was bright and clear

It looked as if the Big Buddha had blessed
the surrounding land and made it fertile and green

They may be known as common melastoma
but I still think they're worth pausing to admire
whenever I encounter these flowers

Heading towards Nei Lak Shan along the part of
the rerouted Lantau Trail Stage 4 that
lies between Ngong Ping Village and the high hill

On Nei Lak Shan Country Trail looking back
at the trail that had brought us there
(and the Big Buddha in the far distance)

Looking down at an area of landslide damage
and ahead to part of the cable car route

A view that had been entirely obscured
by mist one week earlier

A little further along the trail, one's view is dominated
by Lantau Peak, Hong Kong's second highest
mountain with a peak 934 meters above sea level

To be continued -- for sure! :)

Twenty-two years on

Two points of light at Victoria Park yesterday evening

Two of many of the many thousands
at the candlelight vigil to mark the 22nd anniversary
of events that took place in Beijing on June 4th, 1989

Back in the summer of 1989, I was in London doing an internship at the Museum of Mankind (a museum run by the Ethnography Department of the British Museum between 1970 and 1994). Working in that wonderful museological establishment by day, I developed an after work ritual that involved regularly following the news on TV courtesy of the BBC and ITV.

In my memory, the summer of 1989 was a truly momentous one in terms of global political occurences (along with a great sporting one courtesy of Arsenal winning the league by going to Anfield and beating Liverpool 2-0). Among the many events covered by the BBC and ITV news teams, three that occured within days of each other stick out most in my memory: the death of Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran on June 3rd; Solidarity's being swept into power in Poland by elections taking place on June 4th; and what took place thousands of miles across the globe in Beijing on the same day.

Last night, a large crowd gathered in Victoria Park to once again remember the happenings in Beijing 22 years ago now, peacefully protest and more. In the more than two decades since 1989, so much else has happened in the world and in individual lives, including mine.

But the fact of the matter is that what happened in Beijing that summer remains a landmark event that deeply impacted millions of people, including many of us who were thousand of miles away from China at the time -- and, to judge from the large number of candlelight vigil participants who raised their candles aloft when asked at one point during last night's event who among the crowd were born after June 4th 1989, many individuals who hadn't even been blinks in their parents' eyes 22 years ago. On a personal note, I will never forget the shock, horror and revulsion I felt upon seeing TV footage of the events that took place more than two decades ago now.

On a more positive note: On evenings like yesterday, I find myself so grateful once again to be living in Hong Kong -- the only part of China where the events of June 4th, 1989, are allowed to be publicly commemorated, and many people play their part in doing so. Truly, the annual candlelight vigil in Victoria Park and associated events move me a lot -- and so much so that it is very hard to keep the tears from flowing during those occasions.

Dirty (This week's Photo Hunt theme)

On first glance, the village of Pui O on Lantau Island can appear unremarkable or even on the too dirty side to be a good place to visit. I personally reckon it's quite the charming and interesting place -- and unusual on account of two of it being a place where feral water buffaloes roam in now abandoned paddy fields and whose beach has a striped look on account of its sand being a mix of yellow and black.

Re the water buffaloes: they have both their defenders and detractors within the village and beyond. For my part, I like the novelty of seeing them but also recognize that their color contributes to their coming across as dirty. And then there's the difficult-to-overlook matter of their having to defecate seemingly all over the place. (For those who want proof, click on the photo with the water buffaloes in them in this Photo Hunt entry to get a larger look at what the piles on the ground are -- though it's also true that some of the black blobs also are small birds!)

Re the landscape shots: the top most photo is a shot of the place where the sea merges with a river during high tide but on the afternoon of my most recent visit, fresh and salt water was not meeting up and mixing on account of it being low tide at that point during the day. And on a previous visit, much of the ground in the bottom photo was covered with water.

This last time, however, copious amounts of mud and what looks like a green sludge were on view -- and while it can indeed make for a dirty looking sight, I have to admit to also thinking that the green added some color to my photos -- taken as they were on a gray sky (though not actually generally unpleasant!) day out in a quieter, more nature-filled part of Hong Kong than many other populated places in the territory! ;b

Hong Kong ferry experience

Workaday vessel (a Victoria Harbour ferry) in the foreground,
junk trip junk (specfically, the Aqua Luna) in the background

On board the uncrowded North Point-Kwun Tong ferry
one week day afternoon

I recently returned to Hong Kong from a place where good public transportation is (still) not a given and I had to rely on the kindness and charity of family and friends to get about. While Penang is not without its attractions (including some of the most delicious food in the world), it undisputably loses to Asia's World City in the public transportation department -- and it really is the case that whenever I return to Hong Kong after a visit to my homeland, I always feel that I suddenly have legs and am able to (more) easily move about on my own again.

Of all of Hong Kong's public transportation, I use the MTR and buses the most. But while I value them (and, also, the minibuses and trams that I do take every once in a while), I must admit to feeling that there's something special about the Big Lychee's ferries -- be these the famous Star Ferry or other aquatic vessels plying routes that include those between Hong Kong Island and an Outlying Island, ones that cross Victoria Harbour multiple times each day or something else altogether.

Hence my feeling sad upon learning that in March of this year, the Star Ferry decided to terminate its services between Central and Hung Hom and Wan Chai and Hung Hom in one fell swoop -- and somewhat guilty for never having showed my support for them by taking a ride on one of a ferry plying one of those routes.

Consequently, I have determined to support the remaining ferry services by not only taking the Star Ferry between Wan Chai and Central whenever convenient (which actually is quite often -- not least since I do attend my share of concerts and shows at the nearby Hong Kong Cultural Centre!) but, also, checking out and going on trips on other ferries that cross Victoria Harbour several times each day.

Some time back, my much-travelled friend Daisann McLane divulged in a National Geographic Traveller article that she has a soft spot for the ferry that goes across Victoria Harbour between Sai Wan Ho and Sam Ka Tsuen (near Lei Yue Mun) operated by the Coral Sea Ferry Service. While I have yet to venture on board that particular ferry, I have availed myself of First Ferry's service between North Point and Kowloon City and Fortune Ferry's service between North Point and Kwun Tong.

Perhaps it was on account of my having taken it on a non-rush hour portion of a week day but the Fortune Ferry service between North Point and Kwun Tong was the least crowded vessel I've ever been on board in the Big Lychee. Add in a waiting room on the North Point side that was quite surreal in terms of it feeling like quite the laid back as well as amateur operation and I think the whole journey can be recommended as a novel Hong Kong experience -- one that appears to be off the beaten path for residents and visitors alike!

Upon factoring it being so that both the North Point and Kwun Tong ferry terminal are near bus stops from where one can embark on long rides to other parts of Hong Kong, I reckon that an interesting day of exploration can be had that includes this ferry trip across Victoria Harbour; especially for those who enjoy hopping onto public transport and seeing what sights are to be had along a chosen route. In addition, while the cross harbour ride is itself on the short side, the feeling one gets when floating on that scenic body of water often can be an evocative highlight by itself even for someone who has been a resident for more than four years now of the territory whose name translates into English as "Fragrant Harbour". :)