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'Artist'.

The word 'Artist' is used as a type of classification / hierarchy on AnD. Is it justified? or used inappropriately? Celebrities that call themselves 'Artists' do they create their own material? Is it their own experience or written by a second party - song writer or a copy writer? Did these 'Artists' copy / create a 'style' and not Art?

Are people using this website for the sole benefit of:

A. Promoting themselves
B. Selling Corporate Material
C. Mixing with the high class...

Understanding art?

Wednesday, Aug 6, 2008 4:02AM / Standard Entry

It is a vice of second-rate art to come with its own eloquent explanation attached. If an artist can translate the meaning and purpose of a work into easily understandable words, it means one of two things. Either the artist is lying, in order to ease the way with patrons and funders; or the artist is a fool. And if dishonesty is the reason, that too is something that vitiates art. No serious art is easy to interpret. Nor is there ever a single valid interpretation of art. If art is good, there are many things to be said about it and much that will remain unexplainable.

Just my 2 cents.

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Geckos

Monday, Aug 4, 2008 7:04PM / Standard Entry

Geckos are small to average sized lizards belonging to the family Gekkonidae which are found in warm climates throughout the world. Geckos are unique among lizards in their vocalizations, making chirping sounds in social interactions with other geckos. There are 1,196 different species of geckos in the world.

Geckos in Huizhou can grow over 7 - 8cm long. This is just one common species i've seen this week, I love em since they eat pests such as mosquitos

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We're not ready

Sunday, Aug 3, 2008 11:03PM / Standard Entry

With one a few days to go before the Olympics open on Aug. 8, China's work is hardly complete.
The government needs to meet its pledge to deliver clean air in one of the world's most polluted cities, since a two-month pollution control came into force in July, factories and heavy industry in several provinces around Beijing are closed for the games, and up to 2 million vehicles have been taken off the roads by using a daily odd or even number plate registration system.
I was shocked to read about the story of Sun Ruonan’s bakery shop. Sun's ancestors opened a bakery on the axis south of Tiananmen Square in the 1840s. The city tried to tear down the building last year to plant grass and ornamental shrubs beside the Olympic marathon route. Ms. Sun and her younger sister, (an Australian citizen) refused to vacate.
The city has bullied her to leave. One night last year, a bulldozer slammed into the building. Neighbors are paid to keep watch over her, and they have to notify the police when she has guests. Ms. Sun said officials pressed her doctor into refusing to give her care.

Her building is falling apart. The government, for the sake of appearances, has put up scaffolding with green netting around it. As the runners pass her home in August, it will be easy for spectators to miss these posters that beg for help, taped to the door.

A mysterious notice appeared beside the shops, typed on white paper (signed by no one). It read, “In keeping with the government’s request to rectify the Olympic environment, a wall will need to be built around No. 93 South Tianqiao Road.” Several workers left a pile of red bricks on the sidewalk. The next morning, they returned, wearing sandals and straw hats, accompanied by the police and local officials. They set to work laying brick the following morning.
A veil of green plastic netting now covers several shops, now surrounded by a 10-foot-tall brick wall, other unfinished buildings are either demolished or covered up, part of a last-minute beautification campaign.

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Beijing hotels and Airlines slash rates for Olympics

Sunday, Aug 3, 2008 10:49AM / Standard Entry

Hotels in Beijing are slashing room rates for this month’s Olympics as the demand for hotel rooms are not as high as expected. It’s been reported that some hotels are cutting their price by 10-30% as demand falters, but I think the price cut came a bit too late.

How hotel rates have changed for the Olympics

Hotel	Price in Feb 2008	Price in Jul 2008
Prime Hotel	£616	£391
Wellington	£542	£330
Spring Garden Hotel	£339	£230
Howard Johnson Paragon	£314	£237
Best Western Premier	£289	£212
Double Happiness Hotel	£259	£142

Beijing now has more than 800 star-ranked hotels, but the high demand expected has not materialised. While the tighter security and visa rules have contributed the lower demands, the hotel businesses should really blame themselves for overambitious pricing at the very beginning.

Hoteliers are blaming the lack of visitors on increased security measures and the tightening of visa rules, even for travellers who hold tickets for the Olympics. New visa requirements introduced in April mean that foreign visitors must now have proof of their accommodation and return flight when applying to enter, while the government has increased its military presence in the capital.

Security measures include installing missile launchers close to Olympic venues... setting up checkpoints on the outskirts of Beijing and flying unmanned drones around the city during the Games.

Fears that the Olympics might be a target for terrorists have been heightened after explosions on buses in Kunding and Shanghai in recent weeks and a foiled plot to blow up a China Southern aircraft in March. Other concerns include China's handling of the Tibet situation, fears over pollution, the aftermath of the earthquake and the impact of the credit crunch.

Airlines have been forced to cut prices by up to 50 per cent in an attempt to attract last-minute visitors to the Olympics in Beijing. In February, the cost of return flights to Beijing during the Olympics started at around £1,200 with Air China and £1,500 with British Airways. Emirates is now offering return flights during the Games from as little as £497, Air China from £503 and BA from £972.

I had been planning to visit Beijing, but gave up the idea because of the high accommodation costs. Some of the three-star hotels were charging £200 per night, which was quite outrageous by any standard. As much as I wanted to be in Beijing, I’m not ready to being ripped off like that… and I believe there are lots of other foreigners who are being scared off by the price as well.

It’s not the end of the day for these hotels though, despite a lower-than-expected occupancy, they should still be able to make handsome profits because of the high pricing. But overall, I’m afraid it’s the country’s image that is being dampened… the Chinese should see the Olympics to promote China to the world, and not just a short term event to bank in some money.

It's a shame really.

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