mobile art container at star ferry

staring out of a city hall window the other day, i saw a very unusual dome-like structure sitting atop of the car-park. i mentioned it to a few people, none of whom knew what it was meant to be; most of us had been under the impression that the car-park was to go soon, to make way for some vague water-front promenade stuff.

since then, i have learnt that the structure is a mobile art container designed by architect zaha hadid, whose work i saw (and loved) at new york's guggenheim museum. the mobile art exhibition is a chanel sponsored project, and you can check out this interactive website for more info.

the mobile container is debuting in hk on february 27, and will go on till april 5, before being dismantled and taken on to tokyo, new york, london, moscow and paris.

according to hk ticketing, over 20 artists from all over the world have taken part in this:

"MOBILE ART is not so much an exhibition to be visited as a landscape to wander through in a completely new way: to experience the artists' installations, visitors equipped with a MP3 player must let themselves be guided mentally and physically by a soundtrack created by the label "Soundwalk" in collaboration with each of the artists. This soundtrack mixes the original music of a diverse range of artists with voice and ambient sound effects.

MOBILE ART is above all a new form of artistic expression, an unique experience, combining architecture, art, sound creation and fashion. "

international news

for my international news class, we are required to choose one of four topics and write a weekly piece on it for the class website throughout the term; i have chosen to write on africa. the idea is to go beyond superficial and stereotypical reporting, and to make use of a variety of alternative and local/specialist media sources.

one of these is the inter-press service, which is a really good source of alternative stories and information--a must check out for everyone interested in international news.

whither rule of law in hong kong?

i read an article on how David Li, one of hk's tycoons, was recently implicated for insider trading by the US securities and exchange commission. he apparently tipped off a close friend, Michael Leung Kai-hung, about the impending bid by Rupert Murdoch for Dow Jones, of which Li was a non-executive director. although criminal charges were not pursued, Li has agreed to pay a civil penalty of USD 8.1 million.

David Li is chairman and ceo of Bank of East Asia, as well as a member of the Executive Council. a letter has been written to hk's chief executive Donald Tsang, regarding the need for Li to resign. there seem to be suggestions that this will not happen; that such behaviour is common in hk, and rarely makes any political waves. i do not keep up with hk's financial news, but i find this indifferent and callous attitude to the law appalling. (even worse, this attitude is far from confined to finance and business..)

my little mosque

the canadian sitcom, little mosque on the prairie, which i finally got around to watching, is a very cool show. the first such show about muslim life in the west, it manages to be funny without being offensive. this works as the characters are ready to poke fun at themselves. i enjoy the humor and the stories, but more than anything else, i enjoy being able to identify with the characters and their lives (obviously i am not referring to fred the radio host here). i came across a blog that seems to be centered around rayyan's clothing; and why not, with veiled role models/icons being thin on the ground.

the series also does a good job of being informative, which is always a good thing. (having said that, i wouldn't want anyone to think it was representative of all muslim communities).