Category: lifestyle

Virtual Parade, Actual Pride

In March of this year HK Pride Parade applied to the police for a “letter of no objection” for the 2020 procession, as of the start of November a letter has not been issued.

The organising committee of the 13th HK Pride Parade have decided that if the public procession and assembly are not approved police, the event will be held online this year.

Here and Proud

The theme of the 2020 parade is Here and Proud which the organising committee envision as:

Hong Kong should be a liberal and diverse place that belongs to us. All along, the liberty in Hong Kong is renowned for shaping the place into a colourful and vibrant international city with diverse cultures.

As such, the development of the equality movement has made LGBT+ into one of the rays of iridescence that Hong Kong, the Oriental Pearl, radiates. The support for equal rights for LGBT+ is ever increasing as the dazzling sight of the rainbow flag can be seen waving proudly amongst 18 districts. Freedom and diversity are the mutual pride of each and every Hongkonger.

The Hong Kong Pride Parade 2020 hopes that each and every one of you who yearns for freedom and diversity could support and join our pride parade this year. May freedom and diversity be sustained in our society, may we achieve equality and justice in the future, may each and every one of us be Here and Proud.

Rainbow Hot Air Balloon

The invention of hot air balloon in 1783 not only allows humans to fly, it demonstrated that impossible dreams could become reality with perseverance. Thus, we should let our dreams take flight.

Can a diverse, inclusive, non-discriminative society become reality? This year is the 13th Hong Kong Pride Parade and the key visual is the ‘Rainbow Hot Air Balloon’ revealing the different flags for sexual minorities, past mascots of the Hong Kong Pride Parade and the Lion Rock – symbol of Hong Kong.

The Sky Lantern is/was the embryonic form of a hot air balloon, in the past it spread messages far and wide, today it carries our dreams and prayers.

May we rise from the Lion Rock in the ‘Rainbow Hot Air Balloon’, longing for freedom, diversity, equality and justice to be shown to everyone.

HK Pride Parade

Theme: Here and Proud
Dress Code: A Touch of Rainbow

The links to the Livestream event will be available on the HKPride Facebook page, Instagram and Youtube Channel.

Website：hkpride.net
Facebook Page: fb.com/hkpride
Instagram: instagram.com/hkprideparade
Telegram Channel：t.me/hkpride
Twitter: twitter.com/HKPrideParade

Hong Kong Pride Parade 2020
Date: 1pm, 14 November, 2020
Venue: online
Tickets: Free

SurrealHK Photo Exhibition

Before Hong Kong’s reality became surreal there was SurrealHK creating the surreal out of Hong Kong… How there’s an exhibition… And his Facebook page SurrealHK.

Here are some of our favourites

SurrealHK
Date: 31 October – 8 November, 2020
Venue: 13A, New Street, Tai Ping Shan
Tickets: free
More info:
12-7pm

Mars Upclose…

The European Space Agency (ESA) has released a trove of almost 100,000 images of the red planet. Captured by the Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC) onboard the Mars Express orbiter the images were taken between 2007 and 2020.

There are also images of the release of the Beagle 2 lander in 2003. While the images have been released for scientific study, the public can browse them as well.

The image archive has hundreds of photos of Mars taken from orbit, showing the huge range of geographical features and diverse formations found on the planet. In the collage of images here, you can see everything from dust and water over the north pole (first image, top row), to an unusual cloud formation called the Arsia Mons Elongated Cloud (second image, top row), to a double cyclone raging over the planet’s north pole (fourth image, top row), to the enormous structures of the Tharsis Volcanoes and Olympus Mons (third image, second row), to the Valles Marineris canyon system (third image, third row).

The VMC was originally intended to observe the release of the British Beagle 2 lander, transported to Mars by ESA in 2003. However the lander disappeared after its deployment and its exact fate remained unknown until 2015, when NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera captured its location. From the images, engineers could see that Beagle 2 landed safely but failed to deploy two of its solar panels, meaning it was not able to communicate with Earth.

Despite the failure of the Beagle 2 mission, the VMC was repurposed in 2007, and has been used to capture images for various scientific papers about Mars.

Note that the images have been adjusted for sensor ‘noise’ and variations in pixel sensitivity and the results are stunning.

Image: ESA Planetary Science Archive

HK Express Flycation

Staycations are very popular these days, but how about a ‘flycation’?

For those who are missing flying HK Express has announced a local ‘flight to nowhere’. Known as #UOFlycation –  the new 1.5-hour flight will circle the city offering a different view of the many beautiful areas of Hong Kong that we catch a glimpse of on regular arriving or departing flights.

#UOFlycation launches in November but no details of prices or schedules have been announced as yet

India by the Bay: A Digital Series

The Sixth India by the Bay, postponed from February, has become a slimmed-down online festival entitled India by the Bay: A Digital Series running from 15-18 October, 2020

The virtual festival features four free events and offers HongKongers an insight into Indian culture and history through film, food, yoga and conversation. The events are:

Yoga as a Way of Life | 15 October, 7pm
Yoga philosopher Daniel Simpson will present a specially designed session on the benefits of Yoga in these difficult times

Zaika: Food, Creativity and Lockdown | 16 October, 7pm
Romy Gill and Rahul Gomes Pereira in conversation with Vir Sanghvi

East West – A Legacy | 17 October, 7pm
Shubhendra Rao, disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar celebrates the centenary of his Guru’s birth.

Churchill: Hero or Anti Hero | 18 October, 7pm
Shashi Tharoor in conversation with Mukulika Banerjee on the life and legacy of Winston Churchill, one of history’s most complex figures.

India by the Bay 2020
Date: 15-18 October, 2020
Venue: Asia Society Hong Kong Center
Tickets: free

Yuen Long to Sheung Shui Cycle Path, Now Open

Just in time for the long weekend, the Tuen Mun – Ma On Shan cycle path extension opened this week.

The new 11km cycle track links Yuen Long with Sheung Shui and marks the completion of the entire 60km-long cycle track backbone between Tuen Mun and Ma On Shan.

The newly opened track passes through several scenic spots including Kam Tin River, the Long Valley Wetland and San Tin.

The route of the new section can be found in the HKeMobility app.

Bars, Karaoke Reopen Today

Glorious leader comrade Lam, she who is in charge and responsible for all things Hong Kong (except as she stated repeatedly the police..) has graciously permitted (after checking with Beijing) HongKongers to visit bars and karaokes again – those that remain open.

So, ignore the rain, and have a good night out!

Be a true HongKonger and wear a mask, stay safe, have fun – and leave a cash tip for the hardworking bar staff who’ve been trapped at home unpaid for weeks

Post Offices Reopen 24 August 2020

Hongkong Post today (22 August) announced that all post offices will resume their normal business hours starting from 24 August 2020.

Mail collection from posting boxes and mail delivery service (including that for Speedpost items) will also resume.

For buildings with confirmed COVID-19 cases within the past 14 days, delivery to the letterboxes in lobbies will be three times a week, but door delivery service will remain suspended until the building concerned is removed from the list of buildings with confirmed cases within the past 14 days.

For more information: www.hongkongpost.hk