stonebuddha Posted February 5, 2006 Report Share Posted February 5, 2006 Recently, I went on a week long vacation to Hong Kong. What's impressive was the stunning architecture – a mixture of old and new adjacent to each other. You can see modern skyscrapers that would put anything in NY to shame, right next to old apartment buildings with peeling paint & laundry hanging out the window. For me this represents the best example of private property rights – if you own the land, you can build whatever you want. In America, you'd have socialist busy bodies in zoning committees refusing to grant a building permit, unless you promise to throw in a few million to rehabilitate the surrounding neighborhood as well. Or they would declare your property to be a "historical landmark", effectively banning you from any changes. In Hong Kong, useable land is scarce due to challenging mountainous terrain. The drive to build ever taller skyscrapers represents a triumph of engineering, industry, finance, & human will. For me, the sight of a metropolitan skyline is far more impressive than any "natural" wonder. For example, the Grand Canyon is shaped by the forces of water, wind, & other geological phenomena. It maybe beautiful to behold, but there was no intelligence, no purposeful behavior behind it. In contrast, a skyscraper during its lifetime - from conception to completion and beyond, represents the life of man. It involves years of planning, labor, and cooperation. It employs thousands of people who live, work, & sometimes die in its service. Why anyone would hold "pristine nature" in higher regard than a modern metropolis is mind boggling. With that in mind, I give you my 6.5 minute video tribute to Hong Kong. The original is DVD quality and the details are stunning on a 50 inch plasma, but for download purposes I give you a much smaller version. I would recommend you right click & save to your desktop before playing. Turn down the lights, turn up the sound, it's 58MB in total…enjoy! Hong Kong Video (6.5 Minutes) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slave Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 My connection speed is too slow to see if you captured the building on the south east corner of Victoria Park. When you are going towards Time Square and look back at it, it looks like it is falling over. I have no idea what the name is, I just remember sitting on a park bench with my wife and son being amazed with its appeareace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted February 6, 2006 Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Thanks for that video. It brought back a lot of memories from the time I lived in Hongkong. I loved the place, and would have enjoyed it even more if only I could speak the language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonebuddha Posted February 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2006 Slave - I don't think I went near Victoria Park. The scene in the video was Hong Kong park in Central. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Dog Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 Yes, I love Hong Kong, which is why I spend about 6 months a year there working. In fact, I will be going back for a month in about three weeks from now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bold Standard Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 (edited) Thanks for that video. It brought back a lot of memories from the time I lived in Hongkong. I loved the place, and would have enjoyed it even more if only I could speak the language. I've always wanted to go some day. I bought a book on tape a while back on how to speak Cantonese in case I ever get to, but I'm not too good at it yet. Does anyone here speak it, and if so, what's the song about, that plays on the video? I loved watching it. Thanks, stonebuddha. The buildings are much more beautiful than prestine nature, and the way they complement the natural surroundings is also remarkable. Liberty, take some pictures for us, if you get a chance! I'd like to see the building slave mentioned. Edited May 17, 2006 by Bold Standard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonebuddha Posted May 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 Glad you enjoyed the video. The song is "On Your Mark", sung in Japanese (not Cantonese) by the popular duo Chage & Aska. The lyrics don’t really have anything to do with the Hong Kong images. I chose it because: 1. It's one of my favorite songs of all time 2. It's sufficiently long to enable me to show enough images (about 110 or so) to convey the feeling of what it's like being in Hong Kong 3. I don’t understand Japanese and hence the lyrics will not cause any cognitive dissonance with the images. If you're interested in the lyrics: On Your Mark lyrics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Dog Posted May 17, 2006 Report Share Posted May 17, 2006 Liberty, take some pictures for us, if you get a chance! I'd like to see the building slave mentioned. I don't make it to that part of the island that often, but as I will be there for a month, I am sure that I can find the time to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bold Standard Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 (edited) Ah, I thought it sounded more like a Japanese pop song than a Chinese, but I've never heard pop music specifically from Hong Kong. It's catchy though, with an enjoyable mood. 3. I don’t understand Japanese and hence the lyrics will not cause any cognitive dissonance with the images. Interesting that you'd say that. Although I think the ideal is for amazing music and equally amazing lyrics to complement each other, I have to admit that a lot of my favorite singers tend to sing so that their lyrics are almost indecipherable (such as Elizabeth Frazer, who sings the song "Teardrop on the Fire" with the group Massive Attack, which is played during the beginning and ending credits on the Fox TV show "House," and is also known as the singer for the British group Cocteau Twins, and guest vocalist for Peter Gabriel, the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, and a famous cover of Tim Buckley's "Song of the Siren" with This Mortal Coil). I wonder if I'm attracted to such singers for the same reason-- not being able to understand the lyrics allows one to simply enjoy the beauty of the voice, and the melody, without being distracted by the meaning of the words. But sometimes it's more distracting, because I keep trying to figure out what the song is actually about. (Sorry to digress..) Edited May 18, 2006 by Bold Standard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwertz Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 I liked the theme to House, too, so I went and tracked down the album. I must say though I really didn't like much else on it. "On Your Mark" was made into a music video/short film by Miyazaki. The short is cute and fluffy (like all of Miyazaki), but with a heavy environmentalist (specifically in this case anti-nuclear power) undertone (like all of Miyazaki), and I think the protagonist of the short is modelled directly from Nausicaa (Miyazaki at his most environmentalist). I always loved Miyazaki's style, but hated a lot of his content. -Q Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonebuddha Posted May 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 I love the Cocteau Twins as well as Japanese & Chinese pop/rock music precisely because the lyrics don't mean anything to me. This way the song can work by establishing a mood, as opposed to an unchanging message piece. As an added bonus, I don't get burned out as fast as I do with songs in English. Besides, the lyrics of most popular songs are all the same anyway – lost love, heartache, disappointment, etc. I've heard it all a million times already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rearden_Steel Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 (edited) After just finishing my second trip to Hong Kong I must agree, the architecture and immense scale of Hong Kong is awe-inspiring. I’ve also always been impressed by the little parks tucked away between many of the buildings. These little parks have some of the most beautiful and advanced fountains and water sculptures I’ve ever seen. The parks also provide relief from the crowded and bustling streets. Edited May 18, 2006 by Rearden_Steel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bold Standard Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 I liked the theme to House, too, so I went and tracked down the album. I must say though I really didn't like much else on it. Yeah, Massive Attack is a collaborative group, and Liz Fraser only sings on a couple of songs. I love the Cocteau Twins as well as Japanese & Chinese pop/rock music precisely because the lyrics don't mean anything to me. This way the song can work by establishing a mood, as opposed to an unchanging message piece. As an added bonus, I don't get burned out as fast as I do with songs in English. Besides, the lyrics of most popular songs are all the same anyway – lost love, heartache, disappointment, etc. I've heard it all a million times already. Ah, another CT fan! I agree with your assesment of the lyrics of most modern pop songs-- but I don't think it has to be that way. I usually like Miss Fraser's lyrics when I'm able to discern them. Although I prefer uninteligible lyrics to lousy ones that ruin the song, what I long for is truly original, poetic, intelligible lyrics that make the song even better. But speaking as a musician and songwriter, I know it's easier said than done. Or.. easier played than said, as the case may be. I'm glad that I didn't hear anything pro-environmentalism in that song, though (since I only know minimal Japanese). That would have subtracted from the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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