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SubscriptionsSites I Read
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| Gone to try out using Blogspot for a while.
mineroadtrip.blogspot.com
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This weekend, I went to one of the Proms. The "Proms" is a series of classical concerts held every year, during the summer. It's a really big thing and broadcast live on TV (becos it's done by BBC, the main British TV station). The concert I chose, was all Mozart music. Played by the Salzberg Mozart Orchestra, there were two symphonies, a piano concerto and two soprana pieces.
Very good music! Very well played. Very Mozart sounding! hahah.
My main point in blogging about this, though, was that the audience was VERY white. I'd say out of the several thousand in the audience, maybe 100 was non-white. Seriously! This was amazing. I mean, this is London! And, btw, white applies to the hair, too. Half the people had white hair and a third were dyed or balding.
So, why do mainly old white people like classical? I didnt use to like classical (I still dont know much about it) and I understand why most young people dont like it. But, I just found it very interesting, that one of the biggest events in the BBC annual calendar is 95%+ dominated by old white people.
Oh and one of the second violinists is a babe  Although, seen only from 100 ft away...
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| Today is 16th Aug 2006
It was exactly 7 years ago today that I arrived in England. 7 years for me is significant, because it's the same amount of time that I've lived in Hong Kong.
So, I've now spent equal times in Hong Kong and England.
That's quite shocking. When I first came here, I despised this country (!) How could shops close at 5pm?! How could a Tube journey cost 10 times as it does in HK? What is up with the ceaseless drizzle? Why are Friday nights full of drunken louts and vomit on the streets?
I never thought I'd be here this long. But I've grown used to this country and as I blogged earlier, London's starting to feel like home now. Gradually.
But as I reflect on my past 7 years in England and the 7 in HK, I think...
HONG KONG WILL ALWAYS BE MY SPIRITUAL HOME!
Oh and btw, one of the main reasons why I've come to like living here, is NOT actually becos of England. Hahah. Its cos I just love going to Europe. 
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| CEASEFIRE in Lebanon!! Yes! Finally! After 34 days..
Over 1000 Lebanese and 100 Israelis MURDERED. 1 MILLION Lebanese forced from their homes. Billions of dollars of infrastructure destroyed. This was a modernising country, just enjoying its 2nd year of happiness after Syria left and Israel just bombed it several decades back into the past.
Was there a point to it? Maybe it was all worth it, if Israel achieved some lasting good for BOTH itself and Lebanon?
No.. Israel didn't achieve anything positive. Hezbollah survived with at least half its rocket arsenal and its leadership intact.
But at least the murdering has stopped and I am so glad and thankful for that =) Let diplomacy work it out.
Better an unjust peace than a just war - Cicero, a famous Roman Senator
On a further note, idealistic me hopes and prays for the day when
- Arabs and Israel live in harmony.
When the Middle East is at peace, there would be no more Islamic terrorists and we can all focus on the other big problems of this world. Africa, oil dependence and the environment. =) =) =)
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| Global Warming?? - A Controversy
46 C in LA. 37 C in London 39 C in Madrid
These are the latest record July temperatures. Hottest temperatures ever recorded. Way out of the average ranges.
Can we blame them on global warming? Is it proof that the Earth is heating up on average? And can we even prove that it is a result of extra greenhouse gases in the atmosphere?
Science has measured increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Science has theories of how they can raise global temperatures
Weather lately has become freaky, warmer winters, boiling summers, Katrina.
200 yrs ago, you could ice skate on the Thames in London in winter. Obviously the average temperatures have gone up. And this has many effects, eg malaria spreading to Europe. But, is this to do with human CO2 emissions?
Science has NOT shown conclusively, that this is true.
Human-released CO2 warming up the globe, like Evolution, is a THEORY.
It's just as plausible that these mad temperatures are due to the urban sprawl in LA and other modern cities. Buidings and tarmac absorb heat more than fields and plains. It can also be due to unsustainable use of fresh water, which severely affects local weather cycles. Drain the rivers, drain the groundwater, channel it into the sea hundreds of miles away and you've shifted the rain patterns and cooling effects! There are many other reasons out there for record high temperatures.
And it's essential humanity gets its facts right. Prof David King, Tony Blair's Science Advisor (and the ex-Head of Cambridge Chemistry Dept) said "Global warming is much of a threat than Terrorism". For him to put it on a priority like that, he needs good solid science to back it up.
It's important that the media doesnt not exaggerate the threat. It's important that climatologists understand exactly what's going on, becos we need to really know how big a threat it is and what we could do about it.
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