blog of Joe cz Liao

因為找到它，
今天開始，生活改善了。

它大概有十多歲吧。

My rare trip to Wong Chuk Hang was driven by great expectations, and rewarded with a lift in spirit.

Chester Lau, now a new friend of mine, is an establishing graphic designer / artist young in age but of weighty substances. I learned of him on a design blog about data graphics few days ago. Looking through his flickr photostream, I realized that he is based in Hong Kong, I decided to look him up on facebook. We exchanged a few messages, and decided to meet up.

When I arrived, Chester’s working partner Christie was also there. It took us no time to get into some engaging conversations. Throughout, I listened as carefully as I can to both of them, and expressed my opinions where I thought is either constructive or spices up the conversation, otherwise I just kept nodding and agreed to most things they say wholeheartedly. I felt as though I have found my tribe. They speak of art and design like they speak of life – like I think I do. The abundance of idealism mixed with youth and ambition excites me from the inside.

They belong to a group of freelance creative professionals known as Nomad. Chester and Christie went quite in depth explaining to me the ideas behind the group, why the name and its logo etc. I could not help but notice the unusually high similarities in vision, taste and values between us. I saw clearly some promising potential for creative synergy working with this group of people .

All conditions met, I believe my trips to Wong Chuk Hang will not be rare anymore.

We try to know everything so much that we spread ourselves so thin we end up knowing nothing about everything. Then when we try to know alot about small things, we get so focused that we know too much about nothing.

—A Confession Encountered.

Someone once told me to think big. I didn’t know what he/she meant.

http://biggestdrawingintheworld.com/

<update> Of course we know this is fake…. -_-

I have heard and seen many great things about Dubai – though I have never been there myself: The Tennis court on the roof where each play requires (most probably) a new ball; hotels that would not admit you if you care enough to ask about the price; all the world records set by its rapid development… I have not given it much thought how Dubai came to where it is right now. “Oil” – the answer to many questions – is obviously over-simplified; so simple that an outsider like me can hardly care less to find out more.

Here is one article that I could not help but share.

The Dark Side of Dubai by Johann Hari.

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.

—Einstein

Or not?

(more…)

I just realized that what I thought I published on my SH trip is actually sitting in my draft box all this time. Without further ado:

[2009.3.13] Too much has happened, in too short a time. I wish I had a recorder so that I could share with you all the amazing things I have heard and seen. I regret that I could only write, and to share this with you so sparingly with my unskillful communication. (more…)

Any one heard of Auroville?

Stephen (here’s his blog) shared this with me. I find it surprising somewhat, that such an effort is being made for past decades and little do people know. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe it sounds way too good.

An effort towards a utopia though, I for one am quite reserved to take such a bold step.

“Design, in persuading people to buy things they don’t need, with money they don’t have, in order to impress others who don’t care, is probably the phoniest field in existence today.”

- Victor Papanek (1926-1999)

Posted while I was reading in the HK Design Center (aka Innocenter…) library.

www.joesgoals.com

I didn’t start this website. I would have.

They say Benjamin Franklin created this system for himself to become a better person.

Easy rules: Set up Positive goals and Negative goals. Give them a weight (depending on how important you think it is to do that everyday). Check them if you did that thing that day, good or bad. The objective is to score high :-)

Things in my list:
———————–

Positive goals:
• Draw
• Practice Guitar
• Meditate (+2, meaning double weight)
• 7 Hours of sleep (+2)
• Read
• (Watch)Movie
• Write (Something I haven’t done for a while, on a blog at least…)
• Speech(Practice, like reading Poetry out loud)

Negative goals:
• Slurring
• late (-2)
• Cutting people off

———————–
What are your goals?

p.s. I found this joesgoals thing while I was looking up on goals for 2009 (:-P) while I was in SH, after reading It’s Not How Good You Are, But How Good You Want To Be by Paul Arden.