Olympics opening ceremony

Yeah I know this post is a bit late but how AMAZING was the Opening Ceremony?! I was totally blown away. It seems that with each games the bar is raised higher and the quality just gets better and better. I can't wait to see what London has in store for us, they will have a hard task to beat this one.

6 days until the Olympics!!

OMG... where did the time go?!!! I can't believe it. It's gonna be here so soon.

IOC's internet censorship deal with China

The international Olympic committee (IOC)'s not-so-secret deal with China about internet censorship. Read all about it here.

Beijing Olympic Mascots parody

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in ages where people give their own interpretations and designs of the Olympic Mascots.

Some examples:

Beijing Olympics silly comic

Breadtalk's Peace Panda to raise money for Sichuan / Random news

* Three day nationwide mourning period starting from yesterday at 2:28pm, exactly a week after the earthquake hit

* 61-year-old woman found after a week of being trapped, alive but had to have both legs amputated, seriously injured and delirious

* Olympic torch relay through Shanghai (originally 20-21 May) to be delayed

* Death toll nearing 50,000

* From beggars to billionaires, all donate money to support the earthquake victims

* We must not forget our poor friends in Burma, who've also suffered a great loss due to the cyclone there, and they have an even higher death toll :(

* I have to admit that since the September 11 attacks nothing has moved me as much as the Sichuan earthquake. Obviously living in China I'm being bombarded with the news and images whereas if I was in Australia I'd barely hear anything about it. I can't watch the news on tv, even a few seconds brings me to tears.

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The other day I found these at Breadtalk. They are adorable! Sure they cost a bit more than the other buns (10 RMB) but half or all (can't remember and couldn't be bothered to try to read the poster, click on image to enlarge) of the proceeds go towards the Red Cross to help the earthquake victims.

They are like the anpanman (red bean inside) but with chocolate on top. I also love how all the faces are totally different. Really cute and tasty! :)

Olympic torch in Shanghai

In less than 2 weeks the Olympic torch will make its way into Shanghai, and I'm excited! (and all the China haters can go and get stuffed =D When I go home I'll try to find and scan and upload my torch relay pic from the 2000 Sydney Olympics when they passed through my suburb and I got up at some ungodly hour to wait for them to come through).

Link

You can track the torch's journey here

Shanghai will hold a torch-lighting ceremony on Donghai Bridge in Nanhui District on May 20 when the torch arrives from Zhejiang Province, Eastday.com said.

Torch bearers will relay the torch across Fengxian, Jinshan, Songjiang, Qingpu, Minhang and Changning and Xuhui districts. They will then take it to Century Avenue and Bingjiang Boulevard in Pudong New Area via the Nanpu Bridge in Xuhui District.

After that, the torch will be taken to the former Shiliupu pier in Huangpu District by ferry. It will then pass Zhongshan No.1 Road E. of Huangpu District.

Another ceremony will be held in Century Square on Nanjing Road E. at the end of the first day, the report added.

On May 21, the torch will be lit near the Memorial Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Luwan District, and then relayed to Jing'an, Putuo, Zhabei, Hongkou and Yangpu districts. It will be ferried to Chongming Island from Baoyang Road pier and then ferried to Baoshan District from Shidongkou pier.

The torch will then move into Jiangsu Province after a ceremony in Anting Motor City in Jiading District.

The journey, which begun on March 24, will cover 137,000 kilometers, the longest in history, and last 130 days and involve 22,000 torch bearers worldwide.

Unfortunately I can't find a close-up actual map of its path in Shanghai. If anyone has seen one I'd love to know, thanks!

China.. Tibet.. Boycotting the Olympic Games in Beijing

It seems like every man and his dog has an opinion on this big news event, as so I may as well add my 2 cents.

First of all I'll start by saying that I agree that what China did to Ti-bet is absolutely appalling, as well as their hideous track record/history of issues relating to hum-an rights. For me, a few years ago, I saw some posters in Hong Kong (Tsim Tsa Tsui) of what the Chinese government did to people who were found to be practising F-a-lun-G-o-ng (writing it like that in case my blog gets blocked). Those images will stay with me for life. I actually started crying (in public, at the ferry terminal!) because I was so shocked, saddened and disgusted at their treatment of fellow human beings. Every time I think about it I feel really really SICK.

Anyway, back to the topic.. how will boycotting the Olympics achieve anything? I'm more than certain the games will go ahead no matter what, and if it didn't all it would achieve is to disappoint the athletes who spend their whole lives training for this big event.

Oh, and I love how all these high and mighty people from Western countries think that THEIR country is so great and perfect, and don't have a shoddy history as well. And if you're going to boycott anything Chinese - hey, you may as well walk around naked because I'm sure as anything the clothes you are wearing are made in China, and stop eating Chinese food and going to Chinese restaurants, and associating with Chinese people (rolleyes).. OMG.. when will this lunacy end?

I'm sorry to say I think it's just pathetic and childish.

Olympics tickets

I totally forgot to mention that last week my husband got us tickets to the Olympic Games. No, not the $2000 Opening ceremony ones.. but the $22 regular event ones.

Also, my mother is coming to visit me soon.

Swatch Fanatic

I've long been a fan of Swatch watches. I remember when my friend got one (she must've been around 10 years old or so) and I thought it was the coolest thing. She got one with a clear face where you could see right through the whole watch.

I ended up getting one when I was 14 or 15. My mum got it for me at a duty free store. I loved it so much and was devastated when I lost it. I don't even know where I lost it except the last memory I had of it was putting it on as I was heading out the door to go to piano lessons. After that I searched endlessly around our front door/yard area to no avail and realised I must've lost it before that in another place.

Every time I go past a Swatch stand or store I can't help but look at them and try them on. The next time I got a Swatch was in 2004. I was browsing Myer (a department store in Australia) and there were a few that caught my eye. Even better one of them was actually on sale - reduced to AUD $60 which is a bargain. (The metal bands cost more).I never liked the plastic bands and my first Swatch had a leather band, but now being older, I had 'graduated' from leather bands too and only wanted one with a metal band.

Not only that, I have another major criteria for the design and that's that the face must be small. My wrist is impossibly small so most of the faces are too big and look ridiculous on me! I can only ever wear the Swatches with the smallest faces.

So anyway I bought this watch and I wore it on my trip to Shanghai/China/Taiwan exactly 3 years ago. Then, when I was packing to go back home I discovered that it was gone. I was devastated. I thought "Not again!" But, funnily, when I got home I found it. Not even straight away but a few weeks later. And then I lost it again, but not really lost. Just misplaced it. I know it's somewhere in my room. Very strange and unfortunate but yes I am a muddle-head sometimes :(

Every time I go past the Swatch stand on the basement floor of Grand Gateway (in Shanghai) I check out the watches there. They are such a rip off in China. The kinds that I like (small face, metal band) are over 700 RMB which is more than $100 Australian.

Whilst I was at Hong Kong airport on the way over to Taiwan I saw them at the airport and they were pretty cheap (I can't recall the exact cost but I'm sure I couldn't get them cheaper anywhere else at this stage). I didn't have any time to look at them nor try them on but I said to myself if I have any money left by the time I get there I'm going to get me a(nother) Swatch!

I like them because they are fun and whimsical and can also be classy and in the scheme of watches are not that expensive. I also love Chopard watches but could buy about 500+ Swatches for one of those!

Yesterday I was at Taipei 101 (for the third time!) and checked out the Swatch store there. I saw a new one I hadn't seen before.

I have also had some el cheapo watches that never lasted the distance but the current watch that I'm wearing is still going strong. I bought it in Hawaii on our honeymoon as I wanted something cheap but was waterproof. (I also went to look at Swatches in a store in Waikiki - geez, I think I am obsessed?!) I went to the ABC store (which is like a 7-11 and souvenir store all in one) and bought a USD$15 watch. I didn't expect much from it but almost one year later it is still going strong. I've had to change the battery once but been snorkelling with it numerous times and it still works perfectly and is water tight. As good as it is, it isn't exactly classy or nice to look at. The band is a clear plastic rubber job which has now turned yellowish and greyish. The thing I like about the face though is that it is very clear to read. The background colour is light pink and the numerals are black. Very few Swatches are easy to read like this! Hmm...

Anyway, there are so many current and not-so-current Swatches that I love but at the same there there are none that I'm 100% happy with because I am so fussy. My criteria:
1. Small face of 24 or 25mm diameter.
2. Narrowish band. Band must be narrower than the face.
3. Metal band. Prefer silver colour since I already own one that is gold coloured.
4. No or limited colourised enamel metal (makes it look a bit cheap IMHO).
5. Numbers must be visible. I don't like the ones where there are no numbers or dots or anything. How are you supposed to tell the time?
6. Plain but not too plain. Swatch-type-whimsical but not too OTT and child-like.
7. Must be 'timeless' and elegant and suit a variety of clothing styles.
8. Must not feature too much of dark colours (hands or numbers are OK), green, orange, or yellow as I don't like those colours.

I don't ask for too much, do I? ;)


But these are my 'contenders' :

1. Very plain and classic but I don't like the style of the band. It has too many 'bits' like a basketweave. I love the face colour and design though. Very easy to read.




2. This one is absolutely beautiful and looks just as good in real life. It can also double as a bracelet and features my fave colours of light pink and light blue. The stones and pearl bits are gorgeous. The thing I don't like though is the face is too 'thick' and too 'high'. It makes it feel clunky. I prefer the thin flat faces (the Swatch 'Skin' series does these but there are no thin yet small face ones!





3. This is probably the one I'm leaning towards the most at the moment as it is the most versatile. I just wish it had a tiny bit of colour on it in the form of stones/crystals.




4. This one is really nice. I really love this one. The band reminds me of nomination link bracelets. It is plain but not too plain. Pretty and cute but not OTT. The only thing I don't like about it is that it is quite hard to read the time because all the colours are too similar. If the face was black (or dark blue like the first one), or the numbers were black it would be perfect!




5. This is an older design from last year. I loved it when I first saw it but now I'm not so sure. The bracelet is actually made of elastic (clear, thin elastic that is used in beading jewellery) and I'm worried about the longevity of it since I'd like to think of Swatches as collector's items. However, I saw it on a girl working at Kinokuniya in Breeze Mall and it looked great on her. The crystals are AB crystals and have a rainbow sheen to them.




6. I love the face and the crystals but I don't like the abstract and unsymmetrical shape of the strap. ARGH. I think I should just buy two watches so I can get the face that I want, and the strap that I want ;)





Gorgeous Packaging

Special Valentine's edition

7. Last but not least the gorgeous 2008 Valentine's special edition. It is by far the nicest Valentine's Swatch yet to date. I love anything with hearts on it, and heart-shaped items and I like that it's not too colourful or OTT BUT I don't like the dangly bit, and the colour combo on the face is also hard to read.





2008 Chinese Year of the Rat edition

8. I'm not interested in this one but just put the pics here as I love the packaging and cute purse. Swatch have some really great special edition packages!




Beijing Olympics edition

8. And finally, the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games edition. Cute for a kid, I think.





PS - Swatch have also invented these very cool 'Puzzle Motion' watches. Check it out!

PPS - If you are in Taipei and are a Swatch collector you should go to Shilin Market and check out the Swatch shop there. There are loads of second hand Swatches for sale. It is on the corner of WenLin and JiHe Roads. It is across the street as you exit JianTan station, a bit to your right. The shop also has Coke collector's items.

1 year till the Olympics!

Today is 08.08.07 and on 08.08.08 the Olympics in Beijing will start. I can't believe it's been almost 7 years since my beloved Sydney Olympics (which I went to and absolutely adored) and in one year's time I will be tagging along with hubby and getting free accommodation and tickets to watch the games - yippee! :D

While I'm in the mood for talking about big events in China, in 2010 the World Expo will be held in Shanghai. And as a local resident - don't we know it! There is chaos on several main roads with construction fast tracked for the expansion and building of more subway lines. The end result will be fantastic though, I'm sure. In 3 years time there will be 3 new lines. In comparison, it takes Sydney about 10 years just to build 1 new rail line, sorry half a rail line (I'm talking about Chatswood to Parramata which they are only building up to Epping at this point).

The Expo's logo looks a little freaky though, don't you think?