Foxymoron

"It's Great To Be Alive"

Canadian James Loney was rescued from captivity in Iraq last week. He arrived back home this weekend and at Toronto's Pearson International Airport made, a touching statement. The Star has the aduio version. Here's the full text, via Maggie:

I heard there might be some interest in my arrival so I wrote down a couple thoughts. I’ll just read it so I can get through. During my captivity I sometimes entertained myself by imagining this day. Sometimes I despaired of ever seeing it. Always I ached for it. And so, here we are.

For 118 days I disappeared into a black hole and somehow, by God’s grace, I was spit out again. My head is swirling and there are times when I can hardly believe it’s true. We had to wear flak jackets during our helicopter transfer from the international zone to the Baghdad airport and I had to keep knocking on the body armour I was wearing to reassure myself this is all really happening.

It was a terrifying, profound, powerful, transformative and excruciatingly boring experience. Since my release, my rescue from captivity, I have been in a constant state of wonder, bewilderment, surprise, as I slowly discover the magnitude of the efforts to secure our lives and freedom: Tom Fox, Norman Kember, Harmeet Sooden and myself. A great of hand of solidarity reached out for us; a hand that included the hands of Palestinian children holding pictures of us and the hands of the British soldier who cut our chains with a bolt cutter. That great hand was able to deliver the three of us from the shadow of death. I am grateful in a way that can never be adequately expressed in words.

The Greatest Love of All

I've been experimenting with a food blog this week. Since Mom's been here, we've been eating out a lot (and even when she's not,) and since many folks back home want to know about food you can find some of my experiences at new blog Bites By Bytes. Reading what I've eaten in the past week is also a good way to motivate me to go to the gym. Feedback welcome.

Discover Hong Kong

While taking the 98D back to work this afternoon, I was wondering if I left Hong Kong tomorrow, would I miss anything? Of course there are people I would miss but Hong Kong itself not a city I love. There are parts of it, if I look deep enough into the nooks and crannies, that I would really miss: street food, Joyce is Not Here and Octopus Cards. But what else? Lately, I've been cynical — bitchy, even about the things and people I do not like. Sarcasm has always been part of my charm but the recent pessamism is not, and I blame my surroundings for a lot of this: the emphasis on money, social ignorance and the huge gap between the rich and the poor.

The more I learn about the city, the more I feel like I don't belong here. God knows I'm not perfect. And I still feel pride because my roots grew from this ground. But I've been feeling lost here, especially lately. My mom arrives for a two-week stay starting tomorrow and I'm really excited to have a part of home with me. She'll know what to do and say to help me feel better about things. And if she can't, then hopefully a vacation in Beijing next month will. I need it.

Yay Yay Yay!

Shot informed me of the beautiful leakage of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs upcoming album, Show Your Bones. Although some argue, the lead single "Gold Lion" sounds too much like Tegan and Sara and not enough like the madwoman Karen O should be, I had already fallen in deep like weeks ago.

SYB is certainly a departure from the older, louder, more chaotic Fever To Tell. If you're looking for comparisions, there are many to pick: "Honeybear" reminds me of The Sounds, "Sweets" sounds like a song Tegan (of T&S) would write, and "Let Me Know" (from the "Gold Lion" EP) sounds like something taken from Aimee Mann's I'm With Stupid days. Yes, SYB is more accessible, but it's helluva lot of fun. There are plenty of other people, far more articulate and knowledgable than me to write about the band and the music. I'd rather spend the rest of my night dancing in my apartment to this here record.

I suggest you do the same. Download Show Your Bones at Berry's blog and buy the album when it comes out later this month.

If you just want a taste, here are a couple of my initial favourites:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs's "Cheated Hearts"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs's "Phenomena"

The Jelly

Despite being really busy lately, I started a language exchange with my co-worker Wendy. She teaches me Mandarin and I help improve her English. I wish I could say it's a fair trade but her English isn't bad and I don't know any Mandarin. Last night, over a bottle of wine, I learned the four tones and the numbers one to 10. I also know how to say "where is my helmet?" among other things. I really enjoy the language (or maybe it's more than I enjoy the Chilean Cabernet-Merlot blend). I love learning Cantonese but I admit, Mandarin is sexier.

I taught her some new English words, which for some reason always have to do with "the birds and the bees." For example, Wendy now knows how to use the words "booty" and "bootylicious" properly. And next week's lesson..."herr" and "therr" and "err."

Pick Up the Mic Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

I'm really happy that Brokeback Mountain is getting so much positive coverage. Even here in Hong Kong where we are so behind in protecting the rights of minorities (and not just homosexuals), the media is eating up the film because the director, Ang Lee often gives props to the territory. There was even live coverage of Lee's family's Oscar party and I saw his mother and brother celebrate at least once an hour, on the hour while at work. Arguably, it's overkill.

But that's not the problem. The problem, as I see it is the reaction that so many people have after watching Brokeback Mountain. It's often something along the lines of: "Oh that's so sad...but I'm so glad things like that don't happen anymore."

The more I talk about the film with people, the more I realize there are a lot of people out there who just don't get it. The theme of repression and self-hating homophobia is not a theme that we left behind with the 60's. It happens today.

Hate crimes and discrimination do happen. They happen in Hong Kong, they even happen in Canada where we're so proud of our tolerance, cultural mosaic and same-sex marriage rights. But there is hatred among us and while our world is better than Ennis and Jack's world, it certainly isn't perfect.

I write this with my blood boiling thinking back to not that long ago when I saw my own friends hurt from their experiences with hatred because she wanted to hold her girlfriend's hand on the street or he was just on his way to watch the Pride parade. Sometimes it's "just" a name. Sometimes it's rocks hurling towards their head. Sometimes it's the denial of a job.

We're Just Trying to Get to the Club and Shake Our Asses

I almost died last night. We were swerving down the twisted roads of Sai Kung with a frizzy-haired taxi driver with two cell phones, a disregard for the double lines in the middle the road and a need for speed. There were four of us in the back seat so Emily and I didn't have a seatbelt. Instead, I clutched the can of Heineken with desperation, drinking the nerves away.

In the cab, I sat next to some dude from the States, also a working journalist. But where he is from is unclear. He first said Nebraska and then New York City. I started talking about Nebaskan musicians and got excited. I don't think he cared so he must have been from NYC. But I'm never sure with those smart alec-y Americans, they're all liars! (For the easily offended Americans, that was a joke.) Anyway, today, I'm craving Nebraskan music and was happy to find Lullabyes has uploaded a soundboard quality bootleg of Tilly and The Wall. TATW also have/had a blog during the recording of their new album, which B says Filter says is coming out in May.

We made it down to Central alive, thank Allah, but only after the cab driver realized he didn't have any more fuel and we puttered down Connaught Rd. Apparently taxis don't have the light that alerts drivers that they're close to an empty tank. We walked up the hill to the Fringe Club for the second show of HK Live and it wasn't bad althought as a non-smoker now in Hong Kong, the air was disgusting: stuffy and smokey, a wretched combination. The bands we saw: The Swamp, Pixeltoy and Gayaman weren't bad. The latter was arguably, the best performance but I comtemplated leaving early because I was I felt sick due of the disgusting air. Hey legislators, implement the damn smoking bill! I think I have some Gayaman and Pixeltoy mp3s somewhere on my external harddrive which I will find and possibly upload later this week. But first, back to bed now.