In the Heat of the Night

When I got off an air-conditioned bus at around 3pm this afternoon, it was as if I was walking into a furnace – I felt as if I was devoured by the scorching heat. The fact that we are still having this sort of unbearably hot days towards the end of August is a sure sign that the summer of Hong Kong is getting hotter and longer.

I remember that the summers in my childhood years were not so hot, particularly considering that my family had no air-conditioners during that time. But in case my memory has misled me, some official figures may confirm that Hong Kong has indeed got hotter and, more worryingly, the thermometer is likely to keep rising.

In a speech given in 2008 by Mr C.Y. Lam, the then Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, said that in the 20th century, the rise of temperature in Hong Kong was roughly double that of the global average. Mr Lam attributed this to urbanisation. I would add that it is no coincidence that Hong Kong’s greenhouse gas emission also doubles that of the global average (in my blog on 13 August, I wrote that “while Hong Kong makes up 0.1 percent of the world's population, it gives off 0.2 percent of the world's total greenhouse gas emission”). We reap what we sow. Fair enough.

Regarding the future, Mr Lam presented some rather grim estimation figures comparing the “end of the last century” (1980-1999) with the “end of this century” (2090-2099) using the reference scenarios of “lower-bound”, “middle-of-the-road” and “upper-bound”. The figures are summarised in the following table:

(Right click to download table)

Back to how I felt when I got off the bus today. What worries me is that we are in the middle of a vicious cycle. I would like to think that I am environmentally responsible enough to be able to sacrifice some personal comfort for the sake of the common good (that is one of the reasons why I have become a vegetarian, and I have to add that I have found it to be no sacrifice at all), and so I use the aircon at home very sparingly. The thing is, if it gets so hot that it becomes absolutely unbearable (to be honest, the heat these days has become quite unbearable), we will be left with no choice but to turn to the cooling devices too. In the worst case scenario, it might even be a matter of life and death. We will then be on the path of no return.

It is said that in greedily and selfishly consuming the natural resources like we do now, we are drawing from the credit of the next generation. I am afraid that if something is not done fast to correct the present situation, it might not even be the next generation that suffers the grave consequences. It may well be our own one.

Honesty is Such a Lonely Word

I see the over-arching theme in today’s Bible readings as honesty.

In Reading 1, Moses said to the people of Israel: “You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” (Deuteronomy 4:2) Not add to, nor take away from his words is Moses’ pledge for the people’s honesty.

Reading 2 echoes the message by saying: “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” (James 1:22)

In the Gospel, Jesus quoted from Isaiah, saying: “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: `THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.’” (Mark 7:6) Of course, to be hypocrites who honors Jesus with their lips but not their heart is being dishonest.

Being dishonest with other is not right, but to me being dishonest with ourselves, something James 1:22 warns us against, is far more dangerous. It is so easy for us to fool ourselves into thinking that we are fair and just, we are doing our best, and all that, and then we feel good about ourselves.

I am sure that the Pharisees and scribes that Jesus was so critical about also saw themselves as being in the right and feeling good about themselves. But maybe deep down they knew, as Jesus did, that they were just “deluding themselves”.

"I Paint the Way I Laugh"

As a cat lover, I like paintings or drawings about cats. One painting about cats I love is this one by Dutch painter Jan Nieuwenhuys.


Nieuwenhuys is one of the artists of the CoBrA Movement in the 1940s and 50s. The name CoBrA is derived from Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam, the cities from which the artists who founded the group came from. CoBrA artists painted directly and spontaneously. They used their fantasy and lots of colours. The subject matters of their paintings included animals or fantasy animals, mythology, folklore, primitive art, children’s drawings, etc. Such features can be seen in Nieuwenhuys’s “Cats” as well as this quotation of his: “I start with my material and my color. With that I express myself. From the material I come to my subject and that is maybe contrary to what painters did in earlier days. I paint the way I write, the way I laugh. That’s why I paint differently all the time, because my moods change. That’s the way I feel.”

Chinglish

There is yet another campaign to stamp out “Chinglish”, this time in Shanghai, the city which will visited by millions of visitors in the upcoming World Expo fair.

As we all know to our amusement, Chinglish refers to the poorly translated or mis-spelt phrases seen in public places – on road signs, notices, menus, etc. The mistakes range from complete nonsense (e.g. ‘Fivst Aicl Centrt’ instead of ‘First Aid Centre’) to abosolute howlers (e.g. ‘crap’ instead of ‘carp’ on a menu). This latest effort to clamp down on Chinglish reveals a few facts:

The problem is a big concern.

China would try to boost its public image before major events.

China has much faith in the power of campaigns, political or otherwise.

Unfortunately, previous experience shows that such campaigns have not been effective. As early as 2001, shortly after Beijing had won the right to host the 2008 Olympics, the city launched a similar campaign in which awkward phrases were sent to a panel of English teachers and foreigners for revision. Similar campaigns, along with others targeting at bad habits such as spitting, littering, queue jumping, swearing and bad driving, were launched again in 2006 and 2007 after previous attempts were met with little success. Still, it appears that the Chinese authorities’ blind faith in such short term fixes is pretty much unshaken. It is like making a frantic effort to sweep the dirt under the carpet before someone comes to visit. The long term vision of developing good living habits and a sense of pride in a clean living environment is less of a concern.

In one of those campaigns the Beijing Tourism Board was quoted as saying that the poor English translations “either scare or embarrass foreign customers”. Now who should be scared or embarrassed by the following translations? Them or the Chinese themselves?


A warning of slippery roads: "To take notice of safe, the slippery are very crafty"
Emergency exits at Beijing airport: "No entry on peacetime"
The Ethnic Minorities Park is named "Racist Park"
On a cruise on the Yangtse River: "Don't Bother" instead of "Do not Disturb" on the cabin doors
A paragliding site is named "Site of jumping umbrella"
On a hotel brochure: "Please take advantage of the chambermaids”
A sign pointing to the help desk of a train station: "Question Authority"
Forbidden: Prostitution, gambling and drag abuse!A sign in the Shanghai metro: "After first under on, do riding with civility"Another sign in the Shanghai metro: "If you are stolen, call the police at once"
A sign in a hotel lift: "Please leave your values at the front desk"
A sign in the stairwell of a department store: "Please bump your head carefully"

"Forever Young"

It is obvious that to be “forever young” is many people’s dream. For that reason, “forever young” a very popular subject for creative or literary works. Look at the three different songs by the same name "Forever Young", sung by Alphaville, Bob Dylan and Rod Steward respectively. Look at Mel Gibson's film "Forever Young". Look at Peter Pan.

But how is it like to be forever young? Ask this question to the little creature in the picture below and he will tell you it is not as romantic as you think.

In fact, the species, called axoltyl, may have to pay the heavy price of extinction for staying forever young.

Here are some facts about this highly unusual animal:

• Axolotl is a kind of salamander that lives in Mexico.


• It spends its whole life underwater in its larval form and never undergoes metamorphosis.


• It is able to regenerate its body parts.


• It is estimated that there are now only between 700 and 1,200 axolotls in the Xochimilco area of the Mexican Central Valley, their last stronghold in the wild.


• Its population has declined alarmingly in the last decade, from about 6,000 axolotls per square kilometre in the Xochimilco in 1998 to around 1,000 in 2004 to just about 100 in 2008 – a 60-fold reduction in about ten years. The main reason for this dramatic reduction in number is urbanisation of the axolotl’s natural habitat and deterioration of water quality.


• There are captive colonies of axolotls in different places of the world, but scientists do not think reintroducing them to the wild is a good idea as it reduces the genetic variability and increases the chance of disease.

The Children of Cambodia (1)

When I went to Cambodia some years ago, I took some pictures of a number of children I met. I felt for them so much that I wrote about each of them. Here are the pictures and what I wrote about them:

I had been observing you
For a full hour
You were idling around this wooden table
Fumbling with the empty can
Examining the rubbish bins
Leaning on the coconuts
Playing with an old knife until an angry looking man came to snatch it away
Doing things without purpose
Without meaning
Without value
Was that all you enjoyed doing
Or were capable of doing?
And when you saw me leave
You came and stretched out a hand
That all too familiar gesture
And the all too familiar look
A look with little hope in it

(To be continued)

He Was Me, He Was You

The sisters I wrote about yesterday, who were abandoned and marginalised by society, reminds me of the song "He Was Me, He Was You", one of my favourite of the 70s.


The little man was lonely but they took him as a tramp
with a love note in his pocket and no money for a stamp
He just sits there in the doorway and he sings his lonely song
mumbling the cold out of his hands
watching the shadows weave and dance
smiling but in his mind the chances are gone

He was me, he was you, maybe someone that you knew
there goes everybody's brother
what's his name?
walk on by, pay no mind, heartbreak happens all the time
ain't it cold enough today, so let it rain

The painter tries to paint him and the poet he tries to see
I think he had a castle in the man he used to be
He just stops to ask a question
can you tell me what you've learned
nobody knows the truth he said
not till the book has all been read
follow the one you love instead of the road

He was me, he was you, maybe someone that you knew
there goes everybody's brother
what's his name?
walk on by, pay no mind, heartbreak happens all the time
ain't it cold enough today, so let it rain


The central question is: What have we learned from seeing sad people like that? The song title, "He Was Me, He Was You", suggests that they were not always so unfortunate but used to be like us. It reminds us that we could easily have been in each other's position. So show compassion to these people because they are "everybody's brother". Do not "walk on by, pay no mind" and have the rather selfish idea that "heartbreak happens all the time".