Albums of the Decade

Recently I have been reflecting upon my favorite albums of the 2000’s. finally, I feel I have come up with a list of my favorite albums which have defined my post teen years to date. My criteria for choosing were as follows; any album released by an artist from 2000-2009, no greatest hits packages, no live albums, I must enjoy listening to the album as much now as I did when it was first released, and the album must receive full marks for its longevity value. As there are 22 weeks left in this year I will post one album a week in descending order until I reach the best album, in my opinion, of the 2000’s.

Jarvis Cocker 'Further Complications'

For Jarvis Cocker’s second album he has teamed up with legendary producer Steve Albini. Witty lyrics (as ever) hard rock, soul, even a bit of disco thrown in for good measure. Jarvis has come up trumps again with this album. Superb!

Last Weekend

On Friday night we went to see a movie at the Zhongshan arts movie which is dedicating its viewing to the works of Rainer Werner Fassbinder. We saw the last movie he directed which was the gay themed 'Querelle'. It was a though going but did have some rewarding moments with its humorous narration and annoying yet catchy song 'Each Man Kills The Things He Loves' from an Oscar Wilde poem.

On Saturday we were rained in most of the afternoon so we decided to finish 'Truly Madly Deeply' which was quite enjoyable. In the evening we met up with ZiaZia and her friend at Chili's and had dinner. Afterwards, they headed to see Harry Potter while we ventured to the new Roxy Roots reggae themed bar.

On Sunday we headed to see Public Enemies. It was a reasonable effort at which i was neither pleased nor disappointed by.

Lumley greeted as 'daughter of Nepal'

A high profile campaign led by the actress Joanna Lumley in May won many Gurkha veterans the right to settle in the UK. The case was followed keenly by their families in Nepal as the BBC found out when the actress arrived in Kathmandu. Joanna Lumley found herself mobbed by Nepalis and swathed in scarves. Joanna Lumley's visit to Nepal was originally intended to be a private affair. But such was the level of gratitude towards the former model and actress, her imminent arrival in Kathmandu fast became the main event in town. "We're so excited to meet her, she's been so good to us," said Sorala Thapa, 42, wife of a former Gurkha soldier who was one of hundreds of Nepalis travelling to Kathmandu's airport to welcome Joanna Lumley.
Sorala arrived with forty other Gurkha wives, all wearing traditional green saris bearing the Gurkha emblem of two crossed Khukuri knives.

As they waited for Ms Lumley's plane to touch down, they handed out placards bearing the slogans "daughter of Nepal", "goddess" and "thank you". Prem Rai, chairman of the United British Gurkha Ex-Servicemen Association Nepal, said: "Gurkha wives and Gurkha widows are especially grateful to Joanna. "They can now qualify for British settlement visas."
But Mr Rai said all Nepalese people were thankful for what she has done for the Gurkhas.
"We are very pleased to welcome her in Nepal," he said.

Elderly Gurkha veterans were among the throng
Many of those who turned up were elderly. As monsoon rain showers swept across the airport car park, they waited patiently, placards and flags in hand.
Finally Ms Lumley emerged from the terminal building. Flanked by Peter Carroll, the Liberal Democrat councillor who began the Gurkha Justice Campaign, she looked delighted to see the crowds waiting to meet her. Leaders of the Gurkha ex-servicemen organizations draped orange garlands and traditional white khata scarves - usually given as a token of love - around her shoulders. But, as Ms Lumley moved slowly past lines of well-wishers, the Nepalese press pack broke through the barriers and surrounded her.

'Absolutely thrilled'
The result was chaos as local police pushed back cameramen and photographers as everyone tried to get a shot of the actress. "I'm absolutely thrilled, it's extremely sweet and warm," said Ms Lumley as her minders pushed her through the mob. "Quite close contact," she added with a smile. Undeterred by the scrum surrounding Ms Lumley, small and elderly former Gurkhas attempted to break through the crowd to reach her. Despite their size and their age, they did surprisingly well - many of them managing to get close enough to drape more scarves around her neck.

The actress gave a speech shielded from the crowd by a car door
Using a car doorway as a platform, Ms Lumley was finally able to stand above the mob and deliver an impromptu speech. "I want to thank you so much for your warm welcome," she said.
"I want to say the time-honoured cry, Ayo Gorkhali!" On Monday the actress is scheduled to meet the Nepalese president and prime minister before addressing a crowd of former Gurkhas at Kathmandu's city hall. "Everybody will be there to meet her," said 53-year-old Gyanendra Rai, a Falklands veteran who will be one the first to benefit from Ms Lumley's campaign to secure UK settlement rights for Gurkha ex-servicemen. "We don't have any word to describe her, because she's like an original goddess for the Gurkhas. So we'll heartily welcome her to Kathmandu. "It is a homecoming for her," he said.

Taiwan president wins party vote

President Ma Ying-jeou could now meet his Chinese counterpart. Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has been elected head of the island's ruling party, the Kuomintang, in a vote by party members. The move will make it easier for him to pass policies through parliament and to have more say in relations with China. China considers Taiwan as one of its provinces, not a country, and does not recognise Mr Ma as Taiwan president. But as chairman of the ruling party, Mr Ma will now be able to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Until now, negotiations between the two sides have been conducted largely between the Kuomintang (KMT) and China's Communist Party, rather than between the two governments.
The past year has seen relations between the two countries improve dramatically, but a summit between the two presidents still may not be likely in the near future. Local media has anticipated a summit between the two men, which would be the first between Taiwan and China since they separated in 1949 following a civil war. But analysts say Mr Ma doesn't want such a meeting to happen soon.

Sensitive issue
Meeting Mr Hu now would be too sensitive, as Mr Ma's plans to bring the two sides economically closer - including the signing of a type of free-trade agreement - face opposition from those who fear he will sell out to China. Mr Ma has indicated he is in no hurry to visit China. Analysts say the main reason he sought the party chairmanship is to exert control over his party, which controls the legislature, so he can get his bills and appointments approved. Being party chairman, however, will also give him more say over dealings with China.

China, Taiwan in direct exchange

The presidents have not been involved in previous Taiwan-China contacts. The leaders of China and Taiwan have exchanged direct messages for the first time in more than 60 years. Chinese President Hu Jintao sent a congratulatory telegram to Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou after his Sunday election to head of the ruling party. Mr Ma responded, suggesting that they had "put aside disputes", a statement from Mr Ma's KMT party said. Mr Ma was elected president last year on pledges to improve ties. The two sides split in 1949 amid civil war.

'Peaceful development'
Taiwan's Nationalist Party (KMT) elected Mr Ma as its chairman on Sunday, giving him more control of the island's legislative agenda as well as its China policy. "I hope our two parties can continue to promote peaceful cross-Strait development, deepen mutual trust, bring good news to compatriots on both sides and create a revival of the great Chinese race," said Mr Hu's message.
As well as being China's president, Mr Hu is also head of the country's Communist Party. Mr Ma said on Sunday that he had been expecting Mr Hu's telegram because he had received one from him when he was last elected KMT chairman, in 2005. He held the post for two years. Neither man used their presidential titles in their messages; China does not recognise Taiwan as an independent country and so does not recognise its presidency.

China and Taiwan have signed trade and travel deals recently, but contacts have always taken place at a lower level than that of president, and have avoided political issues. The improved ties have led to speculation that the two leaders may hold a summit, a prospect Mr Ma has downplayed in the face of the island's anti-China opposition. Although ties have improved in the past year, Beijing has not put aside its territorial claim to Taiwan, insisting the island is a breakaway province of China. Taiwan is self-governing, but holds no seat at the UN and is recognised by only about two dozen states - most of them small Caribbean and Pacific nations.

Last Weekend

A quick review of last weekend...

Friday evening we went to see the latest installment of Harry Potter. It was entirely different from the others and for me it fell flat on its face, not for me at all. On Saturday we saw Bruno which i thought was pretty good. The rest of the day we spent at home and relaxed. It was more of the same on Sunday notwithstanding a stop off at Carnegie's for lunch.

Mercury Prize Shortlist

The shortlist for this years Mercury prize was released yesterday. Here are the twelve selections from this year:

1) Kasabian
2) Florence and the Machine
3) Bat For Lashes
4) Glasvegas
5) La Roux
6) Lisa Hannigan
7) Speech Debelle
8) The Horrors
9) Friendly Fires
10) The Invisible
11) Sweet Billy Pilgrim
12) Led Bib

Solar Eclipse

There was a solar eclipse today, apparently the longest one of the whole century. Totality was at 9:41am this morning although we were off that line being in Taiwan. Anyway, it did get a bit darker but I was unable to fully appreciate it as I was teaching at the time.


Source BBC News:
People in Asia have seen the longest total solar eclipse this century, with large areas of India and China plunged into darkness. Amateur stargazers and scientists travelled far to see the eclipse, which lasted six minutes and 39 seconds at its maximum point. The eclipse could first be seen early on Wednesday in eastern India. It then moved east across India, Nepal, Burma, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Japan and the Pacific.

The eclipse first became total over India at 0053GMT, and was last visible from land at Nikumaroro Island in the South Pacific nation of Kiribati. It ended at 0418GMT. Elsewhere, a partial eclipse was visible across much of Asia.

The next total solar eclipse will occur on 11 July, 2010. It will be visible in a narrow corridor over the southern hemisphere, from the southern Pacific Ocean to Argentina.

Florence and the Machine: Lungs

The final pronged attack of the ladies set to dominate the sound of ’09 has arrived. Tipped as the sound of 2009 by the BBC and winning a BRIT award before she even released an album, Florence Welsh finally delivers a full length album. Based on the hype of two promising singles the album appears destined to fail, her career over before it has even began. Fortunately, ‘Lungs’ is beaming with confidence from the youthful 22 year old delivering quite a clever and catchy set in her debut. Unlike her other two contemporaries to whom she has been intrinsically linked to, she doesn’t solely remain within the genre of electronic. She delves into soul, indie, contemporary pop and an altogether more leftfield approach. Those big singles from which she gained such prominence, ’Rabbit Heart’ and ‘Dogs Days Are Over’, are great offerings. The later being fierce and neurotic whilst the former is a touch of electronic genius. Her voice is already instantly recognizable; powerful, yet homed in and fully controlled. Kate Bush comparisons are obvious here with a lot of complex layers and percussion fully complemented with airy vocals. However, there are numerous influences here. ‘Kiss with a Fist’ gives us a different side, more like a rockier version of KT Tunstall, and the understated cover version of club classic ‘You’ve Got the Love’ is fantastic. We are also treated to some perfectly pleasant pop tunes with ’Hurricane Drunk’ and ‘Cosmic Love’. This artist is hard to pin down and is probably one of her greatest assets. It’s too early to say she is the greatest thing to come along since, well, who knows who! However, a great debut offering from Florence and the Machine.

Anniversary Weekend

Last weekend (well the 12th to be exact) was our first anniversary. Can’t believe it has been a whole year since I first met George. I remember the first night at DaLiDa very clearly as if it were yesterday. In other respects, I can’t believe George has only been in my life just a year. It seems a lot longer in some ways.

Anyway, to celebrate we met after work on Friday, which unfortunately was much later than usual, 9:30 due to the kindergarten graduation performance. We met outside my school and headed to Din Tai Fong for dinner which was as good as usual and no waiting time! We then headed back home to relax and take it easy and exchange presents. I got George a necklace and he got me the Goldfrapp CD ‘Seventh Tree’

On Saturday we headed to Ximen to watch a movie at the Film Festival, Storm. For me, it was very interesting, a movie about the attempted conviction of a genocidal general during the Yugoslavian wars. Superb movie and highly recommended. We then took the new NeiHu line which only just opened to Miramar to check it out and try to get IMAX tickets for the new Harry Potter movie. Unfortunately it was fully booked. Then we headed back home to prepare for dinner at Capone’s. I have wanted to try it for a while and it certainly lived up to expectations. We had a platter for starters followed by a pizza and Gnocchi washed down with Mojito’s. It was great and certainly worth the money. We then headed back to crack open the champagne and relax at home. Sunday saw us get up late for lunch at the hot dog store near DaAn park and then to George’s house for a while. A great anniversary weekend, many more to come too!!

La Roux: 'La Roux'

Round two of the three pronged attack has arrived. La Roux, the red-haired one, is actually a duo consisting of Elly Jackson and the elusive, Ben Langmaid. They are without a doubt harking back to their era of inspiration, that of 80s electro-pop. However, rather than being retrospective and full of irony the album is more an intelligent update on electro-pop. With her red quaff, androgynous look, cutting high pitch tones, synthetic wheezes, and frantic pace on songs like ‘In For The Kill’ and ‘Quicksand’, it can certainly be a little overwhelming for many. It feels as though she is commanding a rowdy ravel to conform; and if I were in the crowd I would be mercifully begging for forgiveness! However, she demonstrates her lover registry on songs like ‘Armour Love’ and ‘As If By Magic’ which contrasts sharply with the upbeat numbers. Along the way we are treated to strange synth harpsichords, the London Community Choir, processed steel drums, calypso flicks, and euphoric choruses to name just a few; it is quite a ride. Overall her music appears to posses some strange addictive quality and the played down production is arguably the key to the success here, it’s really quite remarkable!

Drag Me To Hell

This week and the previous week are a welcome relief from my usual hectic work schedule as it is summer vacation. Therefore, all classes are cancelled for two weeks, I just have to deal with kindergarten right now. Therefore i got to finish early on Friday. After picking George up from the base we headed to the second round theatre to watch 'The Reader'. We have already seen it but only at home, George needed to see it on the big screen :)

On Saturday we went for a late lunch at Carnegie's and then back home to rest. In the evening we headed to ShiDa to meet Zora. We went for an Indian which was great then for the best Mojito's in town by a considerable margin, Bistro O. Afterwards we attended the late night viewing of 'Drag Me To Hell' which was fantastic. It was probably the best horror movie I've seen this decade, both humorous and horrifying at the same time. Highly recommended!

Sunday was yet another relaxing day being forced to stay in due to the torrential downpour all afternoon. Therefore the day was relegated to lazing around home all day.

Gay sex decriminalised in India

I wasn't even aware homosecuality was still illegal in India until today!

Source BBC News:
Rights groups have long campaigned for a repeal of the law. A court in the Indian capital, Delhi, has ruled that homosexual intercourse between consenting adults is not a criminal act.
The ruling overturns a 148-year-old colonial law which describes a same-sex relationship as an "unnatural offence". Homosexual acts were punishable by a 10-year prison sentence. Many people in India regard same-sex relationships as illegitimate. Rights groups have long argued that the law contravened human rights.

Delhi's High Court ruled that the law outlawing homosexual acts was discriminatory and a "violation of fundamental rights". The court said that a statute in Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which defines homosexual acts as "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" and made them illegal, was an "antithesis of the right to equality".

'India's Stonewall'
The ruling is historic in a country where homosexuals face discrimination and persecution on a daily basis but it is likely to be challenged, says the BBC's Soutik Biswas in Delhi.

It also promises to change the discourse on sexuality in a largely conservative country, where even talking about sex is largely taboo, our correspondent says. Gay rights activists all over the country welcomed the ruling and said it was "India's Stonewall". New York's Stonewall riot in 1969 is credited with launching the gay rights movement. "It [the ruling] is India's Stonewall. We are elated. I think what now happens is that a lot of our fundamental rights and civic rights which were denied to us can now be reclaimed by us," activist and lawyer Aditya Bandopadhyay told the BBC. "It is a fabulously written judgement, and it restores our faith in the judiciary," he said. Leading gay rights activist and the editor of India's first gay magazine Ashok Row Kavi welcomed the judgement but said the stigma against homosexuals will persist.

"The social stigma will remain. It is [still] a long struggle. But the ruling will help in HIV prevention. Gay men can now visit doctors and talk about their problems. It will help in preventing harassment at police stations," Mr Kavi told the BBC. But the decision was greeted with unease by other groups. Father Dominic Emanuel of India's Catholic Bishop Council said the church did not "approve" of homosexual behaviour. "Our stand has always been very clear. The church has no serious objection to decriminalising homosexuality between consenting adults, the church has never considered homosexuals as criminals," said Father Emanuel. "But the church does not approve of this behaviour. It doesn't consider it natural, ethical, or moral," he said. The head cleric of Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque, criticised the ruling.
"This is absolutely wrong. We will not accept any such law," Ahmed Bukhari told the AFP news agency.

In 2004, the Indian government opposed a legal petition that sought to legalise homosexuality - a petition the high court in Delhi dismissed. But rights groups and the Indian government's HIV/Aids control body have demanded that homosexuality be legalised. The National Aids Control Organisation (Naco) has said that infected people were being driven underground and efforts to curb the virus were being hampered. According to one estimate, more than 8% of homosexual men in India were infected with HIV, compared to fewer than 1% in the general population.