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Friday, January 30 But on the other hand, perhaps I should just boycott the whole thing as some sort of personal silent protest against their decision to jack up the already overpriced LC-A in a few days by another US$20. Judging by how cheap people can buy brand new LC-As off of ebay from Russian sellers is proof that the Lomographic Society is already making a killing off of the current price. Atrocious! Whilst we the faithful lomographers are dashing around madly trying to match the competition topics, and thereby unconsciously providing them with ample snapshot fodder for future advertising campaigns. I think it's going to be an SLR year for me. Haven't touched my OM-4 in almost half a year and I do miss the more formalized/mechanical approach to photography. It helps that my 1987 LC-A is falling to pieces! Steve McCurry, along with William Eggleston, have been major sources of inspiration lately, which spells a slight departure from my Christopher Doyle-wannabe approach. I return to Snappy Snaps on saturday, thus plenty more free films and development coming my way. The timing couldn't be better.
Tuesday, January 27 In equally exciting news, one of the photographs that I took of this beautiful mess has been used for their feature story in Holland's largest music publication (OOR!) so it's definitely made my day. I will scan in the page when one of the boys kindly send me a copy.
Friday, January 23 In carrying on with the recent theme of diaspora: it's a little bland and anti-climatic celebrating the dawning of the Year of the Monkey in London, especially when I was blessed with the privilege of enjoying the pre-New Year festivities back in HK. There just isn't any kind of authentic atmosphere for one to write home about, apart from perhaps the decorations hanging all over Chinatown that unfortunately don't do much more than delight ignorant foreigners in the same way as chop suey and fortune cookies. Undoubtedly the best one I've had in recent years was that which I spent in Canada last year. Like Christmas in many parts of the western hemisphere, family is the key ingredient for a meaningful Chinese New Year, in my case the majority of which can be found over in Vancouver. Apart from being able to celebrate the festival in a manner similar to that of how things were when most of us were still living in Hong Kong, the trip also showed me the true importance of family, and how the elements of time and distance do little to eat away the bonds. Even more significantly, it allowed my grandma the magical opportunity to take me back in time through her beloved collection of old photo albums. It was her last Chinese New Year. And hopefully my presence at that time (along with the handful of long distance phone calls that followed) made up for my many years of not being a more attentive grandson. Having talked with a number of friends, it's interesting to note that we no longer visit relatives in the same way that we used to. Some had even planned to spend the day in their band room. I remember how jubilant and hectic it was a couple of decades ago, when we'd spend at least the first three days packing ourselves into cars and make our way to different corners of the territory, and then proceed to pack ourselves into the homes of as many different relatives as possible at each destination. Those were incredibly joyous times and it's a damn shame that we now have to be scattered all over the globe. We continue to talk about how the world is getting smaller and smaller yet somehow we are further apart than ever before.
Thursday, January 22 Despite the fact that I'm actually back in London, the only vivid sense of reality which I'm having any success grappling with exists within the immediate comforts of my room/house. I'm not quite sure what the seven short weeks in HK have done to me but already I feel more disconnected than ever from this city, not quite an anchorless boat floating aimlessly at sea... but close. Maybe it's some form of cultural shock, a watered-down version of the kind normally reserved for returning overseas students or provincial Americans taking their first steps beyond US soil. All this took shape the moment I stepped out of the house (for the first time since my return) in order to board a bus for the bank. Seated awkwardly amongst half-full benches of silent old age pensioners on their daily afternoon errands, I found myself adopting more than ever the role of an observer, my eyes becoming mere windows to a David Lynch film of some sort, one devoid of scripts or casts, my 'self' still very much on the other side. But if the surreal nature of the bus ride failed to convince me that I was really back in the UK, the teller at the bank certainly rectified the situation by nonchalantly revealing that it would take five working days for my cheque (from the very same bank!) to clear. Yep. I'm in the right country alright. Whilst on the subject of inefficiency, the NHS tops the list for making me wait 10-12 weeks just so I could be allowed to make an appointment to see a specialist. But since I failed to do so within two weeks of receiving the letter (re: was in HK), they promptly took my silence as some kind of apathy or full recovery. Gosh... would've been nice if they could have the courtesy to offer me a similar amount of time to respond. I haven't quite abandonned all faith yet in a mandatory income tax-funded healthcare system (e.g. Scandinavia) but if this is the best that my £500/month national insurance payments amount to then I really wish we have the option to pull out and deal with medical costs on our own. So yeah, I'm a little down and cynical on my second day back. No doubt things will pick up once I resume some of my former London routines: morning walks in the park, Mika Bomb rehearsals/shows, schmoozing with the rich and famous at Snappy Snaps, curry dinners in Brick Lane, etc. For now though I will get started on scanning the HK photos so that people can have a real reason for visiting this site in a day or two, as I envision my ramblings will be on quite a downhill ride for a while. HK within six months? You bet.
Monday, January 19 I leave HK in exactly 12 hours. Back to the bone-cutting cold and wet of the British isle. It's been a fabulous 7 weeks. 7 weeks that just went by too quickly. A backlog of news postings will be uploaded when I've settled comfortably back into my London attic. Hong Kong photos will follow shortly when I figure out how I'd like them presented. And I imagine I should manage to squeeze in a few replies to emails and guestbook entries along the way. But now I need to rush out and make the most of my final day here. A hot bottle of 7-11 Malt Vitasoy for company sure sounds like a brilliant way to kick things off... |