DickStock Digressions

2011-01-10T11:13:00.002+08:00

It's now January 2011, and am I gonna write anything new this year? Watch this space. Or don't....

Last.FM

2008-11-23T10:36:00.004+08:00

Not only do you get turned onto great music with Last.FM, but people collaborate to write very detailed biographies of some very obscure groups. Check out the bio of Camel, a circa-1970 London band. A musical labour of Love.

A Butler Well Served by This Election

2008-11-12T15:36:00.003+08:00

I thought this was just a lovely story about a White House butler. Then I read it all the way to the end. Wow. From the Washington Post:

"President Ford's birthday and my birthday were on the same day," he says. "He'd have a birthday party at the White House. Everybody would be there. And Mrs. Ford would say, 'It's Gene's birthday, too!' "

Tom Friedman's Message to The World

2008-11-09T12:14:00.007+08:00

"President Bush, because he was so easily demonized, made being a free-rider on American power easy for everyone — and Americans paid the price. Obama will not make it so easy.

So to everyone overseas I say: thanks for your applause for our new president. I’m glad you all feel that America “is back.” If you want Obama to succeed, though, don’t just show us the love, show us the money. Show us the troops. Show us the diplomatic effort. Show us the economic partnership. Show us something more than a fresh smile. Because freedom is not free and your excuse for doing less than you could is leaving town in January."

Amazon does Geography

2008-08-31T10:06:00.005+08:00

They won't sell me an electronic copy of some nonfiction with one-click because my computer happens to be in Hong Kong~! Of all the stupid.....

Click on the pic blow for an incredibly dumb notice.

They sell me books and dvds and even ship them overseas on my USA credit card. I can't read a few words on my screen?

Did I give away the fact that I'm a bit annoyed?

"Geographical Restrictions" indeed~!

(P.S. Tried a program called "Hotspot Shield", a proxy server. Prob Solved!)

China Olympics 2008

2008-07-25T08:51:00.003+08:00

China has jailed critics, denied visas and threatened news organizations that negative coverage could jeopardize their chance to cover the Games.

It Floats....

2008-07-06T09:54:00.006+08:00

These BABYS look cool. I wanna ride~!

International Space Station in Real Time

2008-06-29T12:12:00.005+08:00

Check out where the ISS is at this VERY MOMENT!

Update: They've added a nice red line to show the orbital path.

It refreshes every few seconds. Look carefully to see the station MOVE.

Why I'm Voting REPUBLICAN

2008-06-22T09:24:00.001+08:00

This little video says it all.

Tim Russert R.I.P.

2008-06-20T12:20:00.006+08:00

America laughed and cried at a celebration for Tim Russert the other day. He was the Real Deal.

He will be missed.

This is a great presentation; mousing over the thumbnails reveals a description of each clip. Unfortunately, inexplicably the audio drops out on several of these clips!

AMD Video

2008-06-08T13:39:00.005+08:00

Shot roughly half of this video over two days last month in Taipei, Taiwan. Some of it was shot outside Taipei 101, currently the tallest building in the world.

The Big Picture

2008-06-05T14:07:00.005+08:00

A great new website from Boston.com that uses news photographs in full, beautiful color. Quite unique in the web news world. [Click on the Opium Poppies]

"Big Picture is a fantastic and dead-simple new site from boston.com. Each entry tells a story through high-quality newswire images displayed at large sizes; recent entries include a look at Saturn from the Cassini space probe and the daily lives of soldiers in Afghanistan. If you're frustrated by the tiny news imagery we get spoon-fed to us on the web, this site will be a welcome addition to your daily browse."

Hong Kong Rugby Sevens 2008

2008-03-30T22:29:00.009+08:00

After twenty (20) years in Hong Kong I finally went to the Rugby Sevens. The bastards MADE me do it~!

Michael Sztanke and I did a story about the French team for France 24, a 24-hour television news network from Paris.

Michael wrote the script, our friend Claire translated the french, and I voiced this english version.

Smoke in Beijing

2008-03-12T09:30:00.004+08:00

I don't remememeber ever seeing "Smoke" on a weather page. Beijing has it's work cut out for it in improving the air for the Olympics this August.

Dinner with The Jamiesons

2008-02-08T14:07:00.002+08:00

I was invited to dinner at the Man Fung on Tuesday evening. Pre-Chinese New Year. Fun!

Pictured are Julia, Puzzle and Gina Jamieson.

Gung Hei Fat Choi~!

HK Skyline in STAMPS

2007-08-03T11:02:00.001+08:00

Short-cuttin' throught the G.P.O. in Central Hong Kong recently {to take advantage of its killer air conditioning}, I took pix of this cool mosaic, Thinking it was made of colored tiles.

Recently I took another "AC" break, passing by the mural, and noticed it's made ENTIRELY of POSTAGE STAMPS from all over the world.

Cooooool.

{Click the above title for some more shotzzz}

Loungin' on Lantau

2007-05-22T14:22:00.001+08:00

Made a day-trip to Mui Wo old village to visit the Robert McNabs. Had a great afternoon under the trees.

The Blacksburg Videos Look Familiar

2007-04-20T12:02:00.000+08:00

That guy that did the deed in Blacksburg might have gotten some ideas from Jimmy Cliff's photo-session in "The Harder They Come".

Learning 2.0

2007-04-05T14:23:00.004+08:00

Have you ever wondered about all the Internets stuff that's happening? Here, in one place is an overview of the whole deal, in the form of 23 Things to do. It's not just for Librarians, and its really FUN~!

Running Away

2007-01-18T14:57:00.000+08:00

Dis guy looks like the dude that stole my wallet in Wanchai last night.

No, REALLY.

The Spicy Island Boys

2006-09-20T14:48:00.000+08:00

Or are they just the "Spicy Boys"?

Hugh, Denis "The Lawman" and Gabriel are putting a band together for DickStock 2006. Tom Jamieson works the phones, trying to get them some other gigs. He's skatin' on thin ice....

As We May Think

2006-08-06T22:37:00.000+08:00

In 1945, at the close of World War II, Vannevar Bush {no relation} looked toward the future in an essay for The Atlantic Monthly.
This is thick stuff, but well worth the effort:

"As Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, Dr. Vannevar Bush has coordinated the activities of some six thousand leading American scientists in the application of science to warfare. In this significant article he holds up an incentive for scientists when the fighting has ceased. He urges that men of science should then turn to the massive task of making more accessible our bewildering store of knowledge. For years inventions have extended man's physical powers rather than the powers of his mind. Trip hammers that multiply the fists, microscopes that sharpen the eye, and engines of destruction and detection are new results, but not the end results, of modern science. Now, says Dr. Bush, instruments are at hand which, if properly developed, will give man access to and command over the inherited knowledge of the ages. The perfection of these pacific instruments should be the first objective of our scientists as they emerge from their war work. Like Emerson's famous address of 1837 on "The American Scholar," this paper by Dr. Bush calls for a new relationship between thinking man and the sum of our knowledge. —THE EDITOR"

Bill Graham Presents

2006-03-18T10:35:00.000+08:00

I've always loved Radio Paradise and Radioio70's but I've just discovered WolfgangsVault.com.

Wow. My Kindo Music. LIVE.

About WolfgangsVault.

Bill Graham
and his concert promotion company, Bill Graham Presents, produced more than 35,000 concerts all over the world. His first venue, the legendary Fillmore Auditorium, was home to many of rock's greatest performers - Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Prince - and the list goes on and on.

Graham taped thousands of live performances and stored the tapes in the basement of the BGP headquarters. These tapes and the concerts they captured lay dormant until the Bill Graham archive was acquired by Wolfgang's Vault (Bill Graham's given first name was Wolfgang) in 2003.

Vault Radio is now playing selected tracks from these concerts in an FM-quality, 128K digital radio stream. Songs will be added to and removed from the radio show on a regular basis. We will be broadcasting unaltered live performance music from many of the greatest bands of the last 40 years. The music you hear on Vault Radio has not been sweetened or polished. You'll be listening to what the band played that night - nothing more, nothing less.

Golmud-Lhasa Road, 1986

2006-03-08T02:58:00.001+08:00

Golmud-Lhasa Road, 1986
Originally uploaded by DickStock.

Never Thought I'd Blog this Pilgrim who I met on the Road to Lhasa. Literally had taken a piss and shot this one off. Who can plan a bus break?
Guy had a bomber jacket on over his monk gear.
On The Road....

2006-01-14T20:57:00.000+08:00

I Found Found.

Always odd.

The "EYES" of Death Are Upon You

2005-12-25T13:36:00.000+08:00

Bush in Mongolia-2005
Originally uploaded by DickStock.

Bush stopped in Ulaan Baatar just long enough for this "photo op". Presumably the shot was meticulously organized...

What about the skulls of the Dharma glaring down on him from just above and behind?

Mac Has Cracked The Headset Tangle

2005-12-19T23:17:00.000+08:00

Mac Has Cracked The Headset Tangle
Originally uploaded by DickStock.

Wow. So Simple!

They put a little slider on the earphone cords. It slides up to the ear pieces for storage/transport, then slips down for some "easy listenin'"

O-Tay!

2005-12-11T23:25:00.000+08:00

The WTO conference begins tomorrow in Hong Kong.

I walked from Central to Wanchai this morning and noted the lovely water-filled polymer barriers along the roadside. They were sprayin' 'em down with pressure hoses.

Clean. Fresh. Secure.

Sony HVR-Z1P

2005-11-24T23:53:00.000+08:00

Sony HVR-Z1P
Originally uploaded by DickStock.

My pal Anthony at A&S Broadcast Ltd has just turned me onto a Sony HVR-Z1P for a few days use.

I plan to put it to good use. May just buy it.

Poser Friday 1 2 [3] - the last one

2005-11-15T10:15:00.000+08:00

Gal Takin' Pix of Herself
Originally uploaded by Alice Linck.

Its hard to surpass THIS.

I try every day. But Fail.

Still tryin'.

2005-11-02T09:12:00.000+08:00

DickStock 2005 is THIS SATURDAY~!

2005-10-21T01:46:00.000+08:00

NEVER post when you're PISSED.

BUT....DickStock is November 5 this year.

Be There Then

2005-10-19T22:56:00.000+08:00

That Pesky ol' Dalai Lama is at it again.

Splittist. Flat-Earthist.

You Sir, are a BASTARD.

2005-10-18T22:53:00.000+08:00

75 Years ago today, Mickey Mouse was THIS CLOSE to Suicide.

Who knew? He didn't tell anyone what pain he was in!
{clik toon}

"The Mickey Mouse strip first appeared in 1930, only two years after his first appearance on the big screen. The strip was written and drawn by Floyd Gottfredson from 1930 all the way up until the '70s, and he is as fondly remembered for his strip work with Mickey as Carl Barks is for his Donald Duck comic books.

"But, of course, the strip still appeared with Walt's name at the bottom, as everything from Disney did at that time. In fact, he had little to do with the comic strip, as he was busy building an entertainment empire. The idea for Mickey to engage in a series of comical suicide attempts was one of the relatively few story ideas Walt himself ever came up with, however.

2005-09-27T10:58:00.000+08:00

China's Chilling View of the Role of News Organizations

"The foremost responsibility of news sites on the Internet is to serve the people, serve socialism, guide public opinion in the right direction, and uphold the interests of the country and the public good."

New regulations put into effect.

Amar Singh

2005-09-26T00:56:00.000+08:00

Amar Singh
Originally uploaded by DickStock.

Last night, Amar Singh {Owner & Operator of the fine Spicy Island Resturant and Pub} reminded me of something: I was the one responsible for bringing him to Lamma Island all those years ago.

I was having lunch at the place he was cooking in Wanchai. After the joint closed at 3pm, he came out to Lamma on the ferry and I introduced him to Kumar. The rest is History!

Awright. Good times~!

2005-09-19T07:39:00.000+08:00

I've given up on iBlog. The weblog I started HERE so long ago can only be updated from my iMac machine in the office. That meant that I was unable to update the entire time I was on the road from May 6 till last month. Unacceptable.

Thanks to Vince over at HKMacs for turning me onto Blogger.

So while DickStock Digressions will remain online in archival format, THIS is the new weblog.

First post: From The Onion this week: