The Beijing Olympics have ended. So now what? This is not an easy question, nor my own. Almost every major paper, including the NYTimes, Washington Post and even the South China Morning Post has a piece.

Yet when I think of my own personal journey with China these last five years, the Olympics loom large. I learned first the Chinese characters for the Games (奥运会), and they have never faded in dominance in all my textbooks. With students in Shanghai, how many classes and presentations discussed the event. How many bits in the China Daily began "In preparation for the Olympics...".

In my own research, it's been a non-stop reflection of Western writing on China's preparation to hold the Games. When I first arrived in Beijing on December 27th 2003, the city was in visible construction. Last year, I even attended a poorly executed HKU BEA function to the same city to discuss the preparations for the Games by the sponsors. In May, I took part in a conference about the upcoming Games. I even struggled to get my TV connected to the building antenna for this long event.

Now it just sits off, and quietly tucked under my kitchen table again.

But what next? When I first said I'd come to China, people used to say, "Will you be there for the Olympics?" I'd laugh, as I expected to be long-gone by then. Five years later, I'm still here. And the Games have ended...

Continue reading "What next?" »

Posted by Steve at 02:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hello all!

How are you? I attach an earlier e-mail (below) requesting Backstreet (i.e., GuangLin Yi Lu) pics for my "Backstreet VR" project. It's been a few years, and publically available software tech continues to advance so I'd like to report on my progress.

If you head over to my blog (i.e., www.OnHongKongIsle.com), you'll see I've uploaded almost half a gig and 458 photos into the newly available Microsoft Photosynth service. You can also access directly. Apologies as you'll need a plug-in, and there have been constant server outages since Photosynth has been made available to home users so your experience may vary. This needs good net speed.

Actually with this much data, I'm way above the recommended content for rendering (>300 photos). As all computations are being done client-side, my graphics card and present notebook are woefully short of the minimums. Nevertheless some of the photos have been "stiched" together, and I look forward to trying with a stronger rig (and using later software updates) to see if I can get a better "synthy" score. It'd be nice to try this with a serious graphics card that also does "physics" calculations.

Of course, this isn't the real "VR" I have in mind. Every tree and building appears in at least five photos, so the next step is for this model to be more object oriented and aware. Yet I think that for 2008 (and for free) this isn't so bad.

The entire "Backstreet" is a rather complicated environment to render. In fact, I think we'll need several years yet until I can do this on the amateur level. Happy to see that the data set is especially rich however, as most "orphan" photos (i.e., those not "stitched") demonstrate the ability to be linked into the larger model yet! :)

I'll keep you posted!

As always, I'm still eager for Backstreet pics. Everything is useable, and I extend this to the SHUFE basketball courts and Hose shots as well. If any also want to send along any Christmas Party pics (i.e., 2004) or any other pics in my former room - while I was there - I'd appreciate it. I hope everyone is doing well.

Cheers,
Steve

Continue reading "Backstreet VR" »

Posted by Steve at 07:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Steve at 03:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Steve at 09:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I know some bloggers criticize NBC and Bob Costas, but nothing scrapes the bottom of the barrel like TVB's Olympic coverage. The announcers comment on 20 different events! As if any could have knowledge of so many areas, and they clearly do not. We are peppered with constant comments like "I really wish they didn't have so many tattoos" to fill time and a replay - of anything - never arrives.

The coverage gets worse on ATV however where the announcers (all of them) drum their hands on furniture to cheer China on. Often the sporting event is not even on the screen as a panel of four HK announcers speak to a panel of another four announcers in Beijing. Camera shots of the city, or anything of the Olympic life off the court and track also never appear. Ping pong reigns!!

I even find myself missing most those NBC "personal" documentaries. :) 加油! 加油!

Posted by Steve at 07:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's HK 2008! After the typhoon - hopefully... I'm off to the Olympics! :)

Here are the complete rules. I will attend the early equestrian event - dressage - on Saturday morning. This is probably the first event following the official opening ceremony at 8:08:08 Friday evening in Beijing, and for just $14.50 US. :) Exciting!

Posted by Steve at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday, HK experienced the worst pollution of the year. I coughed, sneezed, wheezed, and ended the day with watery eyes and a headache. What I cannot understand are Guardian articles like this: "Hong Kong chokes in pollution as horses arrive" and "Horses get hot for the Olympics". Today, the SCMP, ran a full front-page article where a Canadian says, "Don't worry about the horses. They'll be fine".

What about the other 7 million of us?

Posted by Steve at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Steve at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There is a certain thrill to see the "bat logo", the same that adorned so many shirts in the summer of 1989, return again. I think it was this image for me at the age of nine that first created a sense of the "summer blockbuster".

To see it again on shirts in HK twenty years later brings the circle of US culture, and global capital, complete for me. I feel that excitement, and perhaps collective pride, of knowing HK has a place in the movie.

It's nice to think that this movie might connect me with friends a world away. Perhaps even more interesting is to overhear Chinese comment, "Christian Bale is a lot of fun!" Globalization is a funny thing! :)

Posted by Steve at 07:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is true that many Hong Kongers (still) look down on mainlanders. I've found that since I've arrived here in 2005, the view has become less-pronounced however, and newspaper polls have supported my feeling. Yet the view remains.

My interest these days however is thinking about everything in relationship to the RMB, or Chinese yuan. And I'm curious about the implications of a stronger CNY against HK popular perceptions.

As HK is tied to the weakening US dollar, the RMB increases in HK buying power. Therefore the very group that is looked down upon becomes better able to buy and spend in visits to HK. This situation is highly artificial, as the increase in spending ability is partly the result of the fixed dollar peg. Yet as the ability to spend always carries influence for HK-ers, it has a certain unintended sociological effect.

It might be interesting to look at the change in perceptions of mainlanders in relation to the yuan's appreciation and see if a correlation exists...

Posted by Steve at 04:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)