Macau Blue - 01

During our recent trip to Macau, saw that there was a photographic exhibition at the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau Building and paid a visit. The exhibition itself was good but what was more remarkable was the building itself. Walls to the entrance hall are tiled with the unmistakable blue and white Portugese tiles. only had time to browse around quickly that day, the metal arch above the archway was particularly interesting and worth to pay a further visit in the future.
the exposed fluorescent tubes, however, was definitely a mismatch, was expecting to see wall lights or hanging pendants.
Apparently they have a public library on the 1/F. expecting to see a fine example of traditional Portugese Interior, have to find out in our next visit.

Grosvenor Place, Repulse Bay

some of the best beaches in Hong Kong are located on the south side of the island, the Deep Water Bay, Repulse Bay, South Bay, Stanley Bay...etc. and just when you think you can get away from the noise and crowd from the city, there you are! BANG! BANG! BANG! luxurious highrises towering over the beaches. the external facade for this building was actually not bad, and the developer is just doing what he is allowed to do within the law, i.e. maximize the development potential. but is the local governement really running out of ideas of where to get their resources and need to start invading the rural skyline.

am not against the development of the rural area if we really need extra housing. but the dilema is do you want a lower income tax, in the expense of the country side, or as the current situation stands, a higher income tax, but less invasion into the rural area. isn't there any other options available?

The Cliff - South Bay

steep cliff...shifting clouds, what lies beyond the top?

taken at South Bay, somewhere...

Central Police Station, Hong Kong

one of most important historical building has been declared monument, the former Central Police Station at Hollywood road.
it was the intention of the Government to convert such into a tourist spot with the proceedings help to upkeep the maintainence of this cluster of building.
if overly done, can become a very tacky place...
delicate, be extremely delicate...
whoever is going to operate this premises, why not use this chance to organize an international architecture design competition, thru the UIA or a reputable institute, use this chance to offer something the local can be proud of.

MAM - Macau Musuem of Art - 01

If there is anything being a Hongkonger would be ashamed of when you are in Macau, other than losing all your money at the casino and cover your private parts with nothing more than a piece of IOU, it's when you stepped into the Muse de Arte de Macau.

undoubtedly a piece of world class architecture, and we are trying to find the background of the architect responsible for the design.

there are spaces which you want to explore and linger, hoping to discover new things and for illumination. and there are places you want to finish your business and leave as quick as possible. the MAM is an example of the former while the toilet and the Hong Kong Museum of Art is the classic example of the latter.

street scenes at Macau - 02

though only an hour away from Hong Kong, have only been to Macau a few times in my life. and for twice, we stayed in hotel in Taipa, 5 years apart, but scenes all changed especially at the waterfront! luckily, the area near Taipa village was largely preserved and remains a pleasant place to stroll along.

street scenes at Macau - 01

despite the opening of new casinos one after another, there remains area where one could still find the nostalgic corners of what was once the Portugese colony.

rua dos bem casados, name of the street, roughly translated as: the street of the well-married. didn't even notice the street name while taking the photo, just thought it was a good composition then.

no doubt there were romantic stories buried in the neighbourhood.

waterfront at aberdeen - 04

waterfront at Aberdeen - 03

waterfront at Aberdeen - 02

Canon EOS 350D with EFS 18-55mm

waterfront at Aberdeen - 01

my first time in this area...never knew there is a path that can lead you so far.

photo taken with Canon EOS 350D with EFS 18-55mm

the weeping angel

for a great loss...
hard to say good bye?
or to pity that you have not live your life without regrets;
gifted by God, but wasted for nothing.
an inevitable destination, but it's what's happening in between that matters.

photo taken at the Happy Valley Cemetery with Minolta DIMAGE F100. good camera, good brand that has disappeared from the face of the earth

Calendar of the King - Part 1.

commonly referred as the "Tong Shing", or "Book for everything", can be bought on the newspaper stand at the beginning of each year, lunar new year, that is. from fortune telling, prophecy, picking the dates for having a haircut, or even pronunciation of some basic english words in chinese, you have it!
it was initially a book for the farmers as it accurately(apparently) forecast the weather, coming of seasons, or when is the best time to sow seed, but it later evolved into a handbook for everyday people like you and me when trying to pick a date to do certain things.
though it does not explain in depth why on a certain day certain activity must not be carried out or vice versa, i am inclined to think that such is compiled via years of observation through the intangible orders in the world we live in. you heard the famous "Butterfly Effect" on chaos and emergence, of cause and effect, the writer of this book possibly manage to notice the changes in one end on the causes side, and therefore can deduce the possible outcome at a specific time of day. in a way, it's nothing superstitious, but a rather illuminating act.
it would be interesting to see and understand the reasoning behind these deductions, and i suspect we might find out the theories on chaos, complexity, or strings, might be something the ancient chinese has stepped upon centuries ago.

on the other hand, on a lighter side, i would say this book is probably one of the best souvenir you can get if you are visiting the city, so rich of information and so unique!

btw, legend has it that the writing of this book was started by the First King of China, "Yellow King" or " Wong Dai", hence it is also sometimes referred as the Calendar of the King.

not sure if i got the translation right, pls help correct them if you know a more appropriate translation.

Homeless @ SOHO (Part 2)

said earlier would find the namecard for this place, but somehow have it misplaced, so, still can't get you the number. however, found the website for homeless, though hasn't been updated for a while, does have the telephone no. for its branch in Yaumatei. took this picture last night after having dinner in nearby restaurant. the design of the oversized doll was quite unique and definitely has the potential to become an inconic product...after some research, oops, just realise the creator for this, the wun ying collection, is a local, Carrie Chau, and apparently she has already established her name in the field of illustration and graphic design.

honestly, some very good works!

the path through the woods

was driving from Fanling to Tsuen Wan after a site meeting and on the way to another. didn't want to take the usual route and saw the sign saying Tsuen Wan, that's the way to go. been driving for more than 10 mins and there was no one to be seen on the road...not a car, not a pedestrian on the pavement...the sun was hitting hard on the black body of the car, even modern technology of climate control has refused to battle further. i opened the windows as well as the skylight, let the light and the breeze to enter the interior of the car without restraint. though the car was moving forward, there was no sound, the noise of the engine was cloaked by the friction between the metallic body and the air.

time seems to be standing still.

for a moment, the reality and fantasy seems to have fused. the time is no longer contemporary, the world is no longer now... after the next corner, what will i see? there was not a single soul around except me and my black stallion...

Cafe Eos, Causeway Bay

one of our favourite place for a late dinner or afternoon tea. we believe there are altogther 3 such cafes in the city, but the one in Causeway Bay, to our taste, is simply the best out of the three, the well proportioned food, the friendly waitress, the long windows looking out onto the busy streets of Causeway Bay, the nicely decorated interior, and what's more, a dinner for two, won't cost you an arm and a leg!

for dessert lover, the apple crumble and ice cream is a must!

G/F 20 Pak Sha Road
Causeway Bay
Tel 2890 4133

Rosary Church, TST, Hong Kong

built in 1888, the Rosary Church is currently the oldest church still standing in the Kowloon Pennisula. most probably due to the absence of good quality masonry materials, the works inside the church were combination of timber, brickwork and mostly plastering, unlike those in Europe, which were predominantly of granite.
though look smaller from the outside, the interior actually is surprisingly spacious.
...um, but the interior illumination seems to be slightly excessive.



the control of daylight was best at the altar, but the recently rennovated interior seems to have put a veil over its true character.

Homeless @ SOHO (Part 1)

not quite remember exactly where we found this place, but it was somewhere near Hollywood road or Wellington Street in Central, Hong Kong. if you are into interesting home accessories, or just want to see stuff that you rarely see in those everyday shopping mall, this is the place to be. around 70 sq.m. or so, the interior is nicely decorated and you can feel that the owner of the shop does have immense passion towards design, that winding staircase, the timber feature wall, the hinged front door...etc. and that cantilevered steel beam for the shop logo at the front.

did u submit that to the BD? shhhhhhhh.

but seriously, a very nice place, and might rekindle your passion in design too!!!!
will find the business card and get the address for you....

the facade - elgin street

the SOHO area, South of Hollywood Road in Hong Kong, mainly referring to the Staunton Street and Elgin Street (but also recently seen expanding in all direction) is a place, whenever you are lack of ideas of what to have for a bite, a decent sit down dinner for two, or just a place to have a nice slice of cake.
been to this place tons of times, but everytime we discover something new.
what is happening to the face of this building?
a big question mark? but goes well with the name of the restaurant opposite.

around the corner - PokFuLam Village 03

from an almost monotonous setting to an alley filled with texture and colour, an escape from the accepted grey city of the modern city where almost everyone preferred to dress in black or shades of grey.

interestingly, in cities like Delhi, Jaipur, or less developed part of Cairo where the place seems to be less materialistic, there is a resemblance in the more creative use of colour and texture.

around the corner - PokFuLam Village 02

in a way, the clashing of the lines is the result of the absence of planning. but it is exactly due to its absence which brought about spontaneous reaction of things that can't be planned for, and which i must admit, were quite intriguing.

around the corner - PokFuLam Village 01

other than the highrise, ultra modern concrete buildings in the city, which can suffocate you if you are looking at it day after day, there are some alternative spaces where you can breathe in a different type of air.

Pok Fu Lam village, last time i visited it must be about 10 years ago. It didn't change that much during my visit last Sunday.

ok, one can imagine the place is to be filled with maybe rats and roaches at night as the weather becomes more humid, but i can't help but feel excited by the almost random and chaotic setting of the place, yet with all those intricate narrow alleys, surprises were almost at every corners!
just how long can this place last before the Government decides to put this piece of land for sale, really don't know. Our Government is very good in removing traces of history from the city fabric you know?

Hong Kong International Airport - Norman Foster

Hong Kong International Airport, designed by the Foster & Partners, or better known as perhaps Norman Foster, is still voted as the best airport in the world by a number of differnt media, magazines. definitely won't argue with that.

it's spacious volume, lack of any annoying direct lights, together with the well coordinated ventilation system, really prepare the traveller for whatever trip you are about to embark on. perhaps only occasionally marred by the oddly placed signages, promotional artefacts, or those hideous looking planter boxes.

such a huge space without the use of conspicous direct downlight, this is trully a job well done.

in contrast, however, the toilets really sucks...

Brands | Architecture: Dior, Tokyo, SANAA

so clean a facade

in a way, it looks like a cardboard model, the lines were so well defined, slabs, edges, and vertical lines.

the Dior Flagship store in Omotesando, Tokyo, is another collaboration work of Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishzawa (SANAA, they have a website but doesn't reveal much) Standing there in stark contrast with those adjacent elaborately designed stores, this one catches one's attention by its sheer simplicity. Adding further to that effect, as a pedestrian on the street, other than the large "Dior" affixed to an entirely white background, you really can't see what's inside despite being an glazed building, thanks to a layer of white fabric (or is it PVC sheet?) behind all the glazing.
distinctively SANAA's works if you put it alongside their earlier works like Kanazawa museum of contemporary art, Glass Pavilion for Toledo Museum of Art, or the N-Museum at Wakayama.
and this is perhaps the only building in the area that really glows at night, like a beacon in the dark waters.

we want to search and see if the Dior Shops in other countires are using the same language, and if there is a brief regarding the style of the building when the architects were commissioned.

who leads? the Brand or the Architects?

what would happen if we swap the name with another brand, would it be recognized as a SANAA designed building more, or the Brand it is carrying?

Brands | Architecture: Tods by Toyo Ito

took this picture during our trip to Tokyo November last year. The place is Omotesando, basically it's a must go if you are into architecture, design, or just brandnames as the long, slightly slanted street, flanked on both sides with trees, is lined with one after another designer built of flagship stores of various brands. this is becoming a phenomenon, not only in Japan, but starting to take roots in other major cities around the world.

the shop, TODS, an italian fashion brand, has employed the service of Japanese Architect Toyo Ito. The use of expressive, almost organic concrete structure, made this a very unique building in the district, and definitely one the most memorable. one can not help but correlate this piece of work with his earlier work on the Serpentine Pavilion at Hyde Park, London. his works were actually some of the first japanese architecture that i came to notice decades ago when there was an exhibition held in the London Natural History Museum at South Kensington almost 20 years ago, and i believed he worked on some of the installations then. want to talk more on this particular architect, but will have to wait till another post.

is there a system behind these seemingly organic concrete "trunks" and "branches"?

if the purpose is to make this stand out, it has already achieved its purpose, so does it matter?

however, the next question is, does it make you want to go inside the shop? and does the design and architecture helps to arouse your desire to consume? what is the relationship between: Brands, noise, marketing, design, architecture, finance, exposure, consumption, consumer behaviour, psychology, competition and all that???

Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa's Christian Dior shop is just a few steps away, will talk about it in the next post.

Broadway Cinema, CyberPort

went to this cinema the other day at the Cyberport. To those who don't know what Cyberport is, well, basically it's a spin off from a large residential development, or was it meant to be the other way round? u see massive structure, huge space, but not much people except in the cinema. will talk abt the Cyberport in a different entry, we are focusing on the cinema here.

another Broadway Cinema, which its name is almost equivalent to "not the type of cinema you see each day", for normally the materials, the finishes are well considered, well, at least on the visual side. Some examples are the Broadway Cinematheque and the Palace IFC.

desinged by local architect firm, AGC design ltd., the wall and ceiling feautre circumscribing the staircase and escalator was quite stunning, and you just can't help but wonder where it leads to. naturally, you will climb the flight of steps and investigate...

...well, it leads to a shopping mall. the mall was not bad in a way but didn't really walk thru it as there was hardly any shops the night we were visiting, but were expecting a little bit more, we were thinking it actually led to a larger cinema, auditorium or something more in tune rather than a mall...

as said, visually it was quite stunning, but there was an interesting phenomenon the night, while waiting around buying snacks and drinks anticipating for a sign of some sort to signal it's time to enter, the managment actually use the PA system to announce, quite irritatingly, in the tone similar to those when you are waiting for your table for dim sum: "9:30, 9:30, House 2, House 2, for Narnia, pls allow patrons to leave first before entering..." and the hall was packed with sardines, oops, people, waiting to get in, and people waiting to get out, quite a scene.

is it the management, the space available, or the design that leads to this?

clague garden estate - part 01.

simply walked past Tsuen Wan today after a site meeting, and saw this building. what attracted me was the bridges linking the 2 towers. was expecting to see residents lingering at the deck though.
did a bit of reserach and apparently it was completed in 1989 and was designed by the P&T architects.
don't know what the interior is like, but it's outlook and settings definitely was arousing my interest in this, like a monstrous monument standing amidst the remnants of a holocaust.
i think i will just pay a visit the next time i am in the vicinity...

Brands | Architecture: Louis Vuitton HK - 02

"behold, worshippers, bow to me..."

no, this is not a religious institute but none other than another retail store for Louis Vuitton in Hong Kong. This one was actually opened a while ago, much earlier than the flagship store in Central.
Located at the Lee Garden in Causeway Bay, the facade features a double storey high of LED back lit wall through, apparently, a specially made holographic film. you just simply cannot miss it at night.

the lighting design is the result of collaborative effort of Rogier van der Heide and Steve Nield. the "wow" effect is definite, however, the interior became much of an anticlimax after seeing such powerful iconic skin.

reflection

the Peak, on Hong Kong island, attracts tons of tourist daily, and mostly focusing on the view of the Victoria Harbour, with the built up of commercial buildings as its backdrop, and seldom do people take note of the magnificient view on the other side facing Aberdeen.

Hong Kong Stadium

completed in 1994, engineered by ARUPS, the Hong Kong Stadium located a stone throw away from the busy Causeway Bay is regarded as a worldclass stadium and is host to events like the International Rugby Sevens, exhibition football matches with the likes of Real Madrid, AC Milan, Manchester United.
It was sometimes used as venues for concerts too, but such events were heavily crippled due to the control of the noise level. so maybe the location wasn't exactly right or the design then didn't take into account such factor.

the hut in solitude - South Bay

years passed, still remember vividly the day when i first set my eyes on this piece of land...

a young man, started off with nothing but his courage and determination, after many years of hardwork, finally set up his own company, being one of the most successful business man at the time, found this place to build his weekend house, for entertaining business associates, but more importantly also for the gathering of his children, his children's children, and also all the future generation to come.

from a barren rock, the main mansion was erected, and to complement, its surrounding was turned into a landscape garden, not only was it going to showcase the most beautiful flowers, but is also to be different every season, so that the visitor can appreciate the coming and leaving of each season and thus the passing of time...

this young man has many children, and i saw them coming every week, week in week out, each of these children became young adults, and soon each became parents to their own children. the tradition never cease, and they still visit the place every week.

the young man was no longer young, and even the grandchildren were becoming adults, and like their fathers and mothers, they too were spending their youth here, under the moonlit sky, watching the stars, pondering the depth of the universe.

the passing of the seasons, everything changes around me, apart from the peeling off of my skin, i am still who i am, the hut in solitude...

Year of the Dog - Lunar Market

the year of the dog has arrived, and just like all the previous chinese new year, the few days preceding the big day will see various venues in the city organizing different scale of lunar market where one sees rows of stores, selling not only flowers, plantings appropriate for the festive season, but also of goods from all trades.

well, that was what it used to be...

while haven't been to one of these markets for a long time since we were normally travelling out of the city for the past few years, this year we stayed, and decided to take a walk at the largest venue of all, the Victoria Park Lunar Market at Causeway Bay.

due to the large crowds, visitors were advised to move in one direction only, though you still occasionally see some people pushing thru in the totally opposite direction, and god knows what they were trying to do as it were already difficult enough to move along the current, think about moving AGAINST the current!

were very enthusiastic at first, maybe it's the sight of the crowd, or it was the noise generated, laughters, chit-chats, screams, hysterical screams, and more hysterical screams! but after walking down the 1st rows of store, which took about 30 mins, it felt that there was somthing terribly wrong. there was a lack of variety of the goods they were selling. about 80% of the stores were selling air filled ballons, cartoon figures, then there were stuffed cartoon toys, closely resembling some japanese or american cartoon characters, but were in fact, locally designed, and definitely lacked originality. stalls after stalls, they were still selling similar stuff with little variation, what was happening? right, there's nothing wrong in making a few dollars during such event, but where's the entrepreneurship, novelty, and courage to try out something different, something new?

there was this stall which we believed was organized by or affiliated to the local architect's institute, and what they were selling were, T-shirts and yes, you guessed it, air-filled ballons. at least what they set themselves apart from the rest was that the graphic were designed by themselves and not just extracted from somewhere, but still very disappointing. and what's worrying was that they were cutting down their price quite early in the night, definitely inspirational for the architects.

perhaps the only consolation was that there were a few stalls, quietly tucked away, selling some traditional chinese paper cuts, which were nice, and gave a fresh breath of life.

Brands | Architecture: Chanel HK - 01

a few blocks away from the Louis Vuitton is the recently reopened Chanel store at the Princes Building. Responsible for the design of the store is american architect Peter Marino, whose name is associated also with the design for brandnames stores including Fendi, Armani, Dior.
during the daytime, the facade can be easily recognized by its simple contrasting use of black and white, intermixed with the warmly lit interior. as the daylight recedes, this is when the facade comes alive. the white panels are in fact LED display screen and is playing a series of carefully choreographed monotonal clips.
furthermore, apparently 5 contemporary artists were invited to help in decorating the interior, will dig out some more info on this.

Brands | Architecture: Louis Vuitton HK - 01

so what is the hottest things happening for the past few months here in Hong Kong? in terms of architecture and interior design, it is probably the opening of, one after another, fashion stores. First we have the Harvey Nichols from London, then we have the much talked about Lane Crawford at the Pacific Place, followed by the almost simultaneous reopening of the Chanel at Princes Building in Central and Louis Vuitton (LV) at the Landmark. There were many others too, almost lost count, and each have their own merits.
this is a phenomenon happening in a global scale, New York, Paris, Tokyo and now Hong Kong. taking the tram alone will probably allow one to see a dozen sites.
the picture above was taken as I was taking the tram from Central back to my office after a meeting. while it looks like a detached building itself, it is actually part of the shopping arcade of the Landmark, cleverly executed by the architect responsible for the project, Jun Aoki, who happens to be the design architect for the LV in New York, Omotesando in Tokyo and pretty much the rest of the LV stores in Japan. In the Hong Kong store, Jun Aoki is responsible for only the envelope and not the interior, which if you are planning to visit, should realise in the difference in approach, though of course this might be the result of the client's intention.
what amazed me was not so much the iconic effect but the type of materials and his preferred mode of execution. Don't want to give away too much, go visit yourself, observe (or even empty your pocket to buy a bag!), come back and leave a message, let others know what you think, OK?

the deck - Yokohama Port

designed by the Foreign Office Architects, the Yokohama International Port Terminal is a visually captivating piece of architecture during the daytime. the views are even more dramatic after the sun has set and the deck became deserted, an alien landscape in an alien world.

Blue Yokohama Port

cosmopolitan hotel, happy valley

this might not be a great piece of architecture, but definitely worth mentioning. the Cosmopolitan Hotel is located in Happy Valley, converted from what used to be considered as the regional HQ for the People Republic of China before the handover from the British colonial rule to the PRC. Its former occupant, the Xinhua News Agency was thought to be political representative of PRC in Hong Kong at the time, its interior secretive, and it was not easy to get beyond the reception lobby unless you happen to work there, invited, or undercover as a spy.
now a hotel, its interior is finely decorated and some rooms have marvellous view of the Happy Valley racecourse, though don't expect it to be one of those new boutique hotels.

apart from its unusal background, another intersting aspect about this place is it's location. yes, about half of all the rooms will have views of the Happy Valley racecourse, but the other side of the hotel is actually facing another well known feature of Happy Valley - the cemeteries! we are not talking about one cemetery, BUT cemeteries, including Catholic, Jewish, Parsees, Islamic, Hindu...etc!!! This might be the only place on Earth where all different religion can be so close to each others! We shall prepare another entry to talk about these cemeteries.

this hotel is definitely worth a visit, and a night at one of the room with a view of all these cemeteries must be breathtaking!

MANOI - RISE OF THE MACHINES.

another picture taken during the IREX 2005, this time it was the much awaited MANOI by Kyosho, alongside with the KONDO KHR-1. In fact, the cute looking MANOI is actually using the KHR-1 inside. Coming out on the shelves by June later this year, don't know how much power it will pack, but it sure looks like a prototype for the ASTROBOY.

just imagine 10 years from now, we will have less kids running around due to low birh rate but many more MANOI look-a-like everywhere.

a density of an indefinable object

while we pursue accuracy, exactness, precision in everyday life, isn't reality more of a blur? you have an impression of a certain object, but you can't exactly replicate, redraw that piece of object. as time changes, object changes, nothing ever stays unchanged through time. an impression of an item, an idea that floats in one's mind.

(Casio EX-Z40 F/3.5 1/8sec picture taken at night at the gallery cafe of Mori Building, Roppongi Hills)

The tallest thing in Hong Kong

well, the tallest man-made thing in Hong Kong to be exact. 88 stories high and total to 420m tall, try to beat that! designed by Cesar Pelli, but actual construction was overlooked by Rocco Design, the IFC 2 (International Finance Centre 2) is undisputedly the tallest building in Hong Kong. Its distincitive "fangs" at the top of the building together with the intense beam of light occasionally shooting skyhigh causes one's imagination to run wild.

can you hear me?

picture taken at Wong Tai Sin Temple, Hong Kong. a typical scene where devotees were making offerings in return for a better year, more fortune, keeping all the evil things away...

some says this is one form of psychological therapy that a highly tensed city like Hong Kong needs.

Journey on a Tram

Traveling on a tram in Hong Kong is pretty much the most unique experience one can have. You are floating along the predetermined path, with people coming on and getting off, sometimes deserted and sometimes crowded, you might see your neighbours and decided to have a chit chat, or you can stay quiet throughout without uttering a word. Unlike other means of transportation, this is the only means of vessel where you can actually see what has gone by, and not rushing things through. You have an impression of things you see, equally, you are leaving an impression to others who see you, strangers brushing past one another. Some people choose to dozed off for the entire trip, waking up not remembering seeing anything, some people decided to do things which are slightly more useful.

Whichever type you are, there comes a time when you have reached your stop, no matter how the trip was, you still have to get off, what lies ahead, no one knows, but a certainty is that you have traveled a distance, how you experience it depends entirely on you.

the intangible captured. Part 1.

This is our first attempt in loading a movie on to our site. the movie was taken during our visit to the Yokohama Art Trienniale 2005 during 29 Nov 05'

Our 1st Robot. Part 2.

the inchworm. completed! this mechanical robot is primarily made of steel, can move forward, backward, through the use of the prolonged front and rear legs, and turn directions with the use of the centrally located round base. operated on 4 x 1.5V dry cells, and controlled via the use of a remote infrared controller, the robot inches forward with a distinctive metallic sound. a pure machine, which in itself is already a beauty. the manufacturer is Gakken of Japan, and in Hong Kong, you can probably get this from Citysuper.

Robonova-1 vs Kondo

this is the army of R o b o nova-1 of Hi-tec which we took a photo of during our visit to the IREX 2005 at Tokyo. Now, while there is tons of information, movies, specification and stuff at the Hi-Tec Robonova-1 page, there are already a number of on-line stores which are selling this product. Apparently, this machine is supposed to be cheaper than the mighty Kondo, yet can be used to compete head to head during anyone of the Robo-One Tournament. (Incidentally, if you visit the Robo-One web site now, you can watch "lion dance" by robots!)
for consumers, this is exactly the scene we want to see - competitions! the more there is, the better the products and the more affordable they become.
When you look at this, and the Robosapien, you are talking about real machine vs toys, but of course, bearing in mind that there is a huge gap in the differenc in price.
On the other hand, one can't kept wondering what is the ultimate purpose of these machines...hobby, most definitely, like the radio controlled cars, but somehow i always feel that there might be a purpose far darker and more sinister.... the robots themselves are neutral, but it's the people who control them.

Our 1st Robot. Part 1.

Got this as a X'mas present, well, not only this but a full box of metal parts which you can assemble a robot. we haven't played around with a model assembly kit for ages, but since visiting Japan during the recent IREX 05', our interest in this has quietly rekindled. The entire robot requires about 2 hours for assembly and we will post some photos of the completed form later. I am trying to find ways of uploading a movie to this blog as well, but need time to figure that out.

Here we go! 2006!!!!

wishing all of you out there to have a fruitful year for all the seeds sown!
andH

Welcome Year 2006!!!!

again, this is the morning to check on one's gain & loss for the past year, and looking ahead to the coming year with new goals & resolutions. The past year has whirled past like a storm, naturally, there were ups and downs, challenges through every corners, battles after battles, laugthers and sorrows, and the occasional sweet tastes of success, warmth, and satisfaction. there are different goals in life, like my dad used to tell me, you can choose to take the scenic path at the base of the mountain, enjoying the calmness, dancing butterflies on fields of daisies, and strolling along, watching the world in a leisure pace, or you can climb up the mountain, overcoming treacherous landscape, being challenged on all aspect of oneself, exhausting to the root, and reaching the top to see the world where no one else has seen. the choice is yours, and there is no absolute right or wrong in choosing which path to take.
the most important thing in life I consider is setting your own goal, something you really would enjoy, deciding what you are going to do, setting up small plans which are means of achieving the ultimate goal and go for it! there's no point in regreting after so many years and say "i could have done that if only i did so and so...", time won't wait, so if you have to do something, do it NOW!
Good luck everyone, and wishing you all a Happy New Year and able to seek the goal of your life!