After all these years, I think I need to come out… as a gamer—in particular, a fighting gamer. I have been playing computer games since I was five, when my cousin was given a Nintendo console. My cousin, a year older than me, was a superior gamer in all aspects. He had had more practice,…
Category: Vinton Poon
Pet Sounds: Vinton Poon
Pet Sounds: A series in which teaching staff and students from the English Department reflect on a piece of music or song. [Read all entries.] [Revisit the “Headspace” series.] [Revisit the “Ongoing” series.] [Revisit the “Interrogative” series.] I am a very lucky person. I sleep on a soft bed every night; I have food (three…
Headspace: Vinton Poon
Headspace: A series in which teaching staff and students from the English Department write about a place or space they go to write, read, study or create. [Read all entries.] [Revisit the “Ongoing” series.] [Revisit the “Interrogative” series.] I often suffer from insomnia. Part of the reason, I believe, is that I have a “wandering…
“The English Sense” by Vinton Poon
For many people, learning a second language involves familiarising themselves with the grammatical rules of the language. My experience of learning the English language has been no different. In my younger years, I assiduously memorised the participle forms of verbs, acquainted myself with the infinitives, and processed the differences between definite and indefinite articles. I…
“Gastritis” by Vinton Poon
. My stomach acid suddenly decides to be adventurous. Without a passport, they travel up. Little do they know, they’re not the most refined tourists, Leaving a trace of blazing pain in my throat. The body is not the most adaptive object. To accommodate, only congee can pass my lips, Their grand voyage has chased…
Ongoing Moments: Vinton Poon
Ongoing Moments: A series in which teaching staff and students from the English Department respond to a photograph of their choice. [Read all entries.] [Revisit the “Interrogative” series.] The picture was taken during a trip to Cramond Island. It was my first year studying in Scotland. A few friends, who I’d met in the halls…
“緣 Yuan” by Vinton Poon
An experience I had when I was an undergraduate is still vivid today. On one breezy autumn afternoon, I was strolling around the campus between classes. In a community centre I saw a poster advertising a series of religious talks, one of which was on Buddhism. Since the Buddhist talk was just half an hour…
“What Broccoli Tells Us About the Umbrella Movement” by Vinton Poon
From a poster “KEEP CALM & STAY TOGETHER” seen in Mong Kok. Photo by Jason S Polley. The people involved in the Umbrella Movements have been called many names by those who disagree with them. They were described as being ignorant, provoked, misinformed, and manipulated. In the eyes of the opposition, the protesters, who wore…
Umbrella Uprising — What We Think
. I have run out of umbrellas to lend to my students, braving all weathers, all scorn, for a future they no longer have any option but to believe in. Now it is my heart I would shelter them with. I do so happily, without reservation. They were the first, and will be the last,…
The Interrogative Mood: Questions with Vinton Poon
The following questions are taken from Padgett Powell’s The Interrogative Mood. What for you are the characteristics that make a person extremely likable? For me, extremely likeable people are those who know who they are and are happy with who they are. These people have nothing to hide or be ashamed of, and they will not…
“Buddhism, Selflessness, and the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis” by Vinton Poon
‘[W]hen a layperson sees a mountain, he sees a mountain, but when an enlightened person sees a mountain, he does not see a mountain.’ Image source: via. Buddhism, as a religion or a philosophy, has many wonderful concepts that help us perceive life in a better way. The basic notion of this belief system is that…
Department of English, Hong Kong Baptist University 