05.31.05
Posted in Uncategorized at 9.30 pm by niltiac
I released this on Tuesday 31 May 2005 at the Starbucks on Hammersmith Road (opposite the Loreal building) in London – Hammersmith, England United Kingdom. The person who caught it joined BookCrossing and left this journal entry:
Journal entry 7 by itsjan(0/0) from Chiswick, Greater London United Kingdom on Friday, June 03, 2005
Passed on to me in Starbucks ! Am starting to read now…………..
CAUGHT IN HAMMERSMITH LONDON ENGLAND
See all journal entries for this book.
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05.27.05
Posted in Uncategorized at 1.51 pm by niltiac
This is a fantastic article from The Sunday Times (Chirac counts on jungle tribes to swing EU vote, 22 May 2005) about the role of France’s overseas territories in this weekend’s referendum on the EU Constitution. I wanted to blog it at the time but was having trouble finding the URL for the web version.
The article basically looks at all the overseas territories – from French Guiana to New Caledonia – and how elections are run there and how they are likely to vote. It focuses quite a bit on the Wayampi tribe of French Guiana, who treat elections as an excuse for a village feast. They have benefited a lot from EU subsidies and are likely to vote oui. France has 1.4 million overseas voters and traditionally they have been able to swing the result of very close elections.
It’s also very well written and a great read. It’s everything a story should be – lots of lovely detail about the jungle tribes and lots of analysis about the significance of these voters and put together in a really elegant way.
It’s particularly interesting for me to read about French Guiana, having worked in Guyana, a former British colony, for four months in 1999. While I agree with national independence and self determination of peoples, it is sad to note that the French Guianese seem much better off than the Guyanese, although they were much more on a par 40 years ago.
Meanwhile, Chirac is saying he will ignore the results of the referendum in the event of a non vote and ask other countries to ratify it anyway. He doesn’t want it to seem that France is the one blocking the constitution. (Which would certainly be ironic since the document was basically written by France!). This would obviously put the Blair Government on the spot, given they had hoped to avoid the embarrassment of a ‘no’ vote if the French knocked it down first.
The Dutch also go to the polls to vote on the new constitution next week and they are also looking none too impressed with the idea of expanding the power of Brussels.
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05.26.05
Posted in Uncategorized at 12.50 pm by niltiac
Scientists have discovered a gaseous planet in the Milky Way, which is about a thousand times bigger than Earth. They used a new scientific technique, called the ‘gravitational lens method’, which they believe can be used to find Earth-like planets.
On the one hand this is incredibly exciting. I firmly believe that, on the balance of probabilities, it is likely that there are other planets capable of supporting life and it is also likely that there are other planets that actually suport life (whether as we know it or not). Finding alien life – or inhabitable planets – would be amazing and would completely transform our view of the world, the universe and our place within it.
On the other hand, it opens up a whole new set of challenges and problem when we are finding it difficult to cope with our existing ones. Our planet is beautiful and precious and yet we treat it badly, pillaging, plundering and poisoning it. We need to focus our scientific knowledge and political and social will on solving the crucial problem of climate change, not to mention other critical problems such as global poverty. If we can find new planets and cherish our own one, then I’m all for it. But it would be a shame to give up on this one just because there are others.
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05.24.05
Posted in Uncategorized at 4.17 pm by niltiac
I’ve got lots on over the next two weeks. I’m seeing a special screening of Sin City courtesy of Empire magazine tonight. Tomorrow, if the weather is good, I am planning to go skating in Hyde Park with Natalie. On Thursday, I am going to a German language meetup to practise my German over a few drinks. On Friday, my cousin Elianor will be down from Glasgow (she is from Brisbane but living over here at the moment) and we are going out for dinner. Then I have a lovely long weekend and it all starts again next week.
We are moving offices over the weekend and on Tuesday we start work in Hammersmith. I am going to a special preview screening of the finale of Desperate Housewives courtesy of Channel 4 on Tuesday night, the Essentials magazine party on Wednesday, and then it’s my birthday on Thursday (not sure what I’m doing yet).
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Posted in Uncategorized at 3.55 pm by niltiac
Some people are even saying Revenge of the Sith is as good as Empire Strikes Back.
This review on LoveFilm.co.uk describes it as “not just in a different league from its two immediate predecessors, it’s on a par with The Empire Strikes Back, the strongest in the original trilogy”. It’s a really interesting review, comparing Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader with Lucifer’s fall from grace and likening the Republic with the USA and Palpatine with George W. Bush.
Hmm. Still not sure I agree though. It was good but I don’t think it was that good!
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05.22.05
Posted in Uncategorized at 11.03 pm by niltiac
Our flat has balconies at the front and back and they are really coming into their own now that the weather is warmer. I have been buying flowers to try to create a bit of a garden and I am hoping to plant a herb box as well. A while ago, we had John and Kimberley around for dinner (roast chicken and vegetables for main and roast peaches with either ice cream or Greek yoghurt for dessert). It was a lovely warm evening so we sat out on the balcony. Kimberley took pictures and she has kindly just supplied me with a disc so I thought I would put a couple on the blog.
John and Caitlin share a drink on the balcony 
Sitting on the window ledge
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Posted in Uncategorized at 10.10 pm by niltiac
We went to see the new Star Wars movie tonight and surprise, surprise, it didn’t suck! It was quite good, even.
There were a few major differences between this one and episodes one and two. The movie had a strong, clear story line, which gave it a sense of purpose. They kept the scenes much tighter and the script writing much sharper. Each scene lasted a couple of minutes at maximum before it switched to one of the other storylines. It didn’t have long, ponderous bits where they develop the love story like the second movie. That storyline was there but they didn’t dwell on it. It is rumoured that playwright Tom Stoppard (The Real Inspector Hound; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dad) doctored the script, which may or may not be true, but it was certainly much better.
Jar Jar Binks is seen fleetingly about twice but never heard, which is definitely an improvement!
Obviously it was much darker than the other two and it had a heavy sense of inevitability since we all know what happens in the end. It was certainly tragic. Some of the acting was a little clunky but it still brought tears to my eyes at the end.
I didn’t notice this but the boys pointed out after the movie that Padme was not meant to die in childbirth because in Return of the Jedi, Luke asks Leia what she remembers of their parents and Leia says that she remembers her mother from when she was very young but she was always sad and distant. So it sounds like someone stuffed up on the continuity. Oh well, it was bound to happen.
The thing I always wondered about was why Leia was a princess. The logical reason is because her mother was a queen but that’s not quite true because they made a big song and dance about how Padme was elected queen for a fixed term only and she then went back to being an ordinary senator. And I don’t think Leia’s adoptive family, the Organas, were royalty either. But again, it doesn’t really matter!
I left the cinema feeling very happy because the movie wasn’t a complete lemon.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 3.02 pm by niltiac
The top story in the World section of The Sunday Times today is about the worsening drought in Australia. (Accompanying graphic here). Goulburn is apparently set to run out of water and, since that is the catchment area for Sydney, it doesn’t augur well for Sydney’s water supplies, which are already at 40% capacity. It’s all very worrying and it’s likely only to get worse with global warming.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 1.26 pm by niltiac
We have now booked our flights for a trip home to Australia this Christmas. We will be getting in the week before Christmas and leaving at the end of the first week of January. I will be mostly in Sydney but I am also planning to head up to Queensland with my mum to visit some of the extended family.
I can’t wait! It will be great to see all my friends and family and see how my baby sister, who was going on two when I left and will be three and a half by the end of this year, has changed. By that time it will be winter in London, so I am looking forward to a touch of sun. Going to the beach, going roller-blading in Centennial Park, lots of lovely, fresh food … It’s going to be awesome!
We are flying in peak season and, while at other times of year you can get flights for about £500 with top airlines, the equivalent fares at Christmas are about £1200. Hence we are flying South China Air (!) for £850. I would pay £100 or so more for a nice airline but not £400 more. The compensation is that we actually fly via Shanghai and we are going to spend a few days there on the way back.
We have been to Shanghai once before, in January 2003. I was there for a business trip (an IBM software conference when I worked at The Australian IT) but it was such a perfect opportunity to travel in China that my boyfriend joined me. The conference lasted about three days, we spent a few more days in Shanghai after that, and we also went to X’ian in western China (the seat of the first Chinese emperor and home to the Terracotta Warriors) and Beijing. It’s a truly fascinating country and I can’t wait to go back.
I wrote a freelance article on Shanghai for The Australian’s Travel section and have republished it here. Unfortunately, I cannot publish any photos since they were all taken with a film camera and the album is in storage in Australia.
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Posted in Uncategorized at 9.40 am by niltiac
By Caitlin Fitzsimmons
THE former Paris of the East has reawakened after years of communist rule.
Shanghai has been in construction mode for the past decade. In 1990 the business district of Pudong, across the river from old Shanghai, was little more than boggy farmland. Now it’s a city of skyscrapers larger than Shanghai itself.
Shanghai is the centre of China’s banking and sharemarket boom and you can almost feel the money pulsing through the streets. Poverty still exists but the growing middle class is definitely making its mark. Mobile phones are everywhere, ritzy shopping malls are popping up in the suburbs and sushi is suddenly very trendy.
But only the dedicated business traveller will spend much time in Pudong. Most visitors are drawn to the other side of Shanghai, with its gothic architecture, bustling markets and stunning temples.
Best walk: The contrast between old and new Shanghai is nowhere more marked than along the Bund, a raised walkway beside the river. The area served as Shanghai’s Wall Street before the communist revolution in 1949 and the strip is lined with classic 1930s Chicago gothic buildings. But if you glance in the other direction, the view across the river boasts an ultra-modern skyline with the space-age styled Oriental Pearl Tower in the centre. Another incongruity is the statue of Mao Zedong halfway along the Bund. The great revolutionary looms against a city skyline dotted with Western capitalist signs for brands such as L’Oreal. A stroll along the Bund is a good way to feel the vibe of Shanghai, but be warned: Westerners are likely to be approached by curious locals wanting to take photographs or be targeted by hawkers selling postcards and film.
Best buys: Shanghai is famous for its shopping and there’s no better place to buy than the Yu Gardens Bazaar, a sprawling slice of retail heaven in the centre of town. Market stalls line the narrow streets and eager touts are ready to take you down a maze of back alleys to show their complete inventory of fake Rolex watches or Nike sport shoes. Look out for colourful shawls in the cashmere-and-silk blend that is the origin of the word pashmina; and for genuine ocean or river pearls. Both are in plentiful supply all over China and cost a fraction of the price here. Yu Gardens also boasts an indoor antique market and while there are few genuine antiquities on offer, it is a good place to pick up old mah-jong or go sets and oriental jewellery. Bargaining is essential and with persistence and humour you can usually pay one-quarter of the originally proposed price. Most vendors don’t speak English but typing prices on an electronic calculator works well.
Best museum: Shanghai Museum in People’s Square is considered one of the top museums in China but it is worth checking out simply for the building. Constructed in 1994 at a reported cost of 570 million yuan, the museum is shaped like an ancient Chinese ding vessel — rather like a large bowl with vertical arched handles. Inside is an impressive collection of ancient coins, bronze work, ceramics, carved jade, paintings and calligraphy, furniture and regional ethnic clothing. The museum deserves at least half a day — more if you are a history buff.
Best temple: Yufo Si, or the Jade Buddha Temple, is a must-see. It is a functioning temple that attracts more than 20,000 worshippers during the Spring Festival but non-Buddhist visitors are also welcome. In the outdoor courtyard, devout Buddhists wave burning incense and pray; inside the prayer halls they pile offerings of succulent mandarins and apples beneath giant gold-painted bodhisattva statues. You have to pay extra to see the Jade Buddha but it is undoubtedly the star of the show. The statue is 2m high and made of white jade, which exudes a soft glow. Photographs of the Jade Buddha are not permitted and postcards are only available in a bulk variety pack. A statue of Buddha reclining on a mahogany couch is worth a look, as are numerous renderings of bodhisattva, such as Green Tara, who represents compassion. Be sure to stop at the gift shop on the way out — there’s nothing worth buying but the shrine next to the cash register should raise a smile.
Best eats: Food is plentiful and good in Shanghai. For lunch, drop in to one of the numerous dumpling restaurants in the centre of town. Xinghua Lou, near the Foreign Language Bookshop between the Bund and People’s Square, offers quality dim sum and has an English menu upstairs. For a classy dinner try the Sea Palace, in an attractive riverboat moored near the Oriental Pearl Tower. The restaurant specialises in seafood of all types. Stewed turtle might not appeal to Western appetites but there is plenty of mouthwatering fish and shellfish on the menu. Fish are kept in a tank inside the restaurant and the waiters will bring the writhing specimens around in a bucket to prove their freshness.
Best bar: There are plenty of places for dancing but most fall firmly in the dive category. Begging seems relatively uncommon in Shanghai but in the nightclub areas, entire families of beggars close in and grab at us as we climb out of the cab. Once inside the club it is not much better, with garish lights, loud music and prostitutes working the scene. The antidote is a touch of class at one of two excellent bars at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Pudong. The Piano Bar on the 53rd floor or the Cloud 9 bar on the 87th floor boast an excellent range of cocktails and the 360-degree view from Cloud 9 is spectacular. The plush seating and muted lights mean it’s not the place for dancing the night away but the trade-off is worth it.
Best tourist trap: The Bund Tourist Tunnel was specially constructed under the river with the sole purpose of parting tourists from their yuan. Passengers join a single-carriage train that whizzes under the river from the northern end of the Bund to Pudong. The journey is brightened by coloured lights on the tunnel wall, which swirl and flash in psychedelic fashion, accompanied by an inexplicable soundtrack. Once on the other side, there is nothing much to do other than turn around and come back. It’s not really worth the price of admission if you are on a budget but it is a truly fascinating insight into entrepreneurial Chinese culture.
BEST BEDS
THERE are newer and fancier hotels across the river in Pudong, but the Peace Hotel gets the gong for charm and location. The hotel was built in 1929 by opium and weapons trader Victor Sassoon. Famous guests have included Charles Chaplin, George Bernard Shaw and Noel Coward, as well as contingents of the Kuomintang and communist revolutionary armies at different points of the Chinese civil war. Today the hotel is one of the few to retain the style and ambience of old Shanghai. The 1930s art deco rooms are very comfortable and there are nine deluxe suites in various national styles — Chinese, British, American, French, Japanese, Italian, German, Indian and Spanish. The hotel has a number of restaurants and bars but the ancient jazz band that plays downstairs has seen better days. The location, directly opposite the Bund and a short walk from anywhere in central Shanghai, is unbeatable. At the time of writing, discounts were available by booking over the web: ShanghaiPeaceHotel.com.
This article was first published on 15 May 2004 in The Weekend Australian’s Travel & Indulgences section. Copyright is held by Caitlin Fitzsimmons.
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