Michael Fong
@michaelfong.bsky.social
He/They | 🇭🇰🇬🇧🇦🇺 | Egyptology, Baroque Music, Education, Computing/FOSS | Views are my own
Reposted by Michael Fong
The Warren Cup at the British Museum today, an ancient Greco-Roman silver drinking cup decorated in relief with two images of male same-sex acts. It was purchased by the British Museum for £1.8 million in 1999, the most expensive single purchase by the museum at that time. 🗃️🏺
December 6, 2025 at 5:30 PM
The Warren Cup at the British Museum today, an ancient Greco-Roman silver drinking cup decorated in relief with two images of male same-sex acts. It was purchased by the British Museum for £1.8 million in 1999, the most expensive single purchase by the museum at that time. 🗃️🏺
French onion soup and steak tartare as my entrée for this evening.
December 7, 2025 at 9:34 AM
French onion soup and steak tartare as my entrée for this evening.
Lego elves are hard at work in Melbourne's Myer department store.
December 7, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Lego elves are hard at work in Melbourne's Myer department store.
Trying out the new Metro Tunnel in Melbourne. It seems there is still a bit of a glitch with the announcement system here falsely claiming this train is not in service.
December 7, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Trying out the new Metro Tunnel in Melbourne. It seems there is still a bit of a glitch with the announcement system here falsely claiming this train is not in service.
Australian Jesuit priest and composer Christopher Willcock taking a bow after his compositions were performed at this afternoon's concert of Baroque Christmas presented by the Australian Chamber Choir.
December 7, 2025 at 6:25 AM
Australian Jesuit priest and composer Christopher Willcock taking a bow after his compositions were performed at this afternoon's concert of Baroque Christmas presented by the Australian Chamber Choir.
Second Sunday of Advent at St Paul's this morning.
December 7, 2025 at 6:20 AM
Second Sunday of Advent at St Paul's this morning.
A pleasure to meet with countertenor Iestyn Davies after the closing night of Opera Australia's production of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice last night.
December 6, 2025 at 12:49 PM
A pleasure to meet with countertenor Iestyn Davies after the closing night of Opera Australia's production of Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice last night.
Standing ovation at OA's production of Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice at the Regent Theatre last night, featuring acclaimed countertenor Iestyn Davies and Australian soprano Samantha Clarke in title roles.
December 6, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Standing ovation at OA's production of Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice at the Regent Theatre last night, featuring acclaimed countertenor Iestyn Davies and Australian soprano Samantha Clarke in title roles.
A reminder that human rights are continuously being suppressed and there is no freedom of association in Hong Kong.
www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
Hong Kong boy, 16, admits joining pro-independence group based in Taiwan
Form Three pupil has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit secession for role in group founded by fugitive activist.
www.scmp.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:21 PM
A reminder that human rights are continuously being suppressed and there is no freedom of association in Hong Kong.
www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
Standing ovation at this afternoon's Australian Brandenburg Orchestra "Water Music" concert featuring Handel's Water Music and new compositions by Nick Wales and Rrawun Maymuru (Yolŋu songman from Yirrkala in North East Arnhem Land).
October 18, 2025 at 5:23 AM
Standing ovation at this afternoon's Australian Brandenburg Orchestra "Water Music" concert featuring Handel's Water Music and new compositions by Nick Wales and Rrawun Maymuru (Yolŋu songman from Yirrkala in North East Arnhem Land).
I have always maintained that the first order of business for a government is to protect individual rights - Everything else is secondary to that. If a govt fails to uphold fundamental rights in our civil society, it fails to operate effectively as a govt.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Chris Minns was warned anti-protest laws shouldn’t be passed in an atmosphere of panic. The supreme court has struck them down
At almost every opportunity, the NSW premier chooses a conservative path: get the cops on side and let nobody fault Labor’s toughness on crime. It’s not working
www.theguardian.com
October 17, 2025 at 11:35 AM
I have always maintained that the first order of business for a government is to protect individual rights - Everything else is secondary to that. If a govt fails to uphold fundamental rights in our civil society, it fails to operate effectively as a govt.
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
The bill at the time was not properly scrutinized and I clearly warned in my local Labor branch meeting and Labor SEC through a motion with others that the state govt cannot afford to make the same grave political mistake as the federal govt ...
www.skynews.com.au/australia-ne...
www.skynews.com.au/australia-ne...
NSW govt 'weighing options' after court grants major win to pro-Palestine activists
The NSW government will consider an appeal after the Supreme Court struck down a controversial police power allowing officers to block protests near places of worship and declaring it unconstitutional.
www.skynews.com.au
October 17, 2025 at 11:34 AM
The bill at the time was not properly scrutinized and I clearly warned in my local Labor branch meeting and Labor SEC through a motion with others that the state govt cannot afford to make the same grave political mistake as the federal govt ...
www.skynews.com.au/australia-ne...
www.skynews.com.au/australia-ne...
Echoes of Peace: A Vigil for Palestine this evening.
September 27, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Echoes of Peace: A Vigil for Palestine this evening.
// Students have been told Gazans "deserved what they got" and a Sydney teacher was "forced out [of] his job" for wearing a traditional scarf in what researchers say are increasing instances of anti-Palestinian racism in schools across Australia.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
Anti-Palestinian racism 'unbelievably prominent' in schools, report says
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network releases its first national register report to examine "the climate of fear, censorship, intimidation and punishment" experienced by students, teachers and mem...
www.abc.net.au
September 26, 2025 at 6:14 AM
// Students have been told Gazans "deserved what they got" and a Sydney teacher was "forced out [of] his job" for wearing a traditional scarf in what researchers say are increasing instances of anti-Palestinian racism in schools across Australia.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...
// When Holocaust survivors are still living in the Australian community and large numbers of black-clad white supremacists mobilised in celebration of the Nazi ethic ... , it would appear as grave negligence on Segal’s part
www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/antisem...
www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/antisem...
Antisemitism Envoy’s Refusal to Criticise Neo-Nazis Reveals Her Role is a Ruse
The antisemitism envoy’s refusal to call out the blatant Jewish hatred involved in neo-Nazi mobilisations suggests that her plan to combat antisemitism is a sham.
www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au
September 13, 2025 at 7:04 AM
// When Holocaust survivors are still living in the Australian community and large numbers of black-clad white supremacists mobilised in celebration of the Nazi ethic ... , it would appear as grave negligence on Segal’s part
www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/antisem...
www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/antisem...
Disappointing development in Hong Kong.
// The bill had proposed to allow residents who have already formed unions overseas to register their partnerships locally and to grant them rights in handling medical and funeral matters.
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...
// The bill had proposed to allow residents who have already formed unions overseas to register their partnerships locally and to grant them rights in handling medical and funeral matters.
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...
Hong Kong same-sex bill that granted limited rights voted down by lawmakers
The bill, which granted limited legal rights to couples registered overseas, was voted down by lawmakers 71 to 14.
www.aljazeera.com
September 11, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Disappointing development in Hong Kong.
// The bill had proposed to allow residents who have already formed unions overseas to register their partnerships locally and to grant them rights in handling medical and funeral matters.
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...
// The bill had proposed to allow residents who have already formed unions overseas to register their partnerships locally and to grant them rights in handling medical and funeral matters.
www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/...
From our good friend Dr Julien Cooper - "Heritage and conflict in Sudan:
Updates on the Sudan National Museum and archaeological threats across the country".
1pm Monday 18/8/2025 at Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney. www.sydney.edu.au/museum/whats...
Updates on the Sudan National Museum and archaeological threats across the country".
1pm Monday 18/8/2025 at Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney. www.sydney.edu.au/museum/whats...
Heritage and conflict in Sudan: Updates on the Sudan National Museum and archaeological threats across the country
Monday 18 August, 1-2pm, Chau Chak Wing Museum. A discussion on the destruction to cultural heritage in the recent conflict in Sudan and on the efforts to save Sudan’s rich cultural legacy.
www.sydney.edu.au
August 16, 2025 at 11:19 AM
From our good friend Dr Julien Cooper - "Heritage and conflict in Sudan:
Updates on the Sudan National Museum and archaeological threats across the country".
1pm Monday 18/8/2025 at Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney. www.sydney.edu.au/museum/whats...
Updates on the Sudan National Museum and archaeological threats across the country".
1pm Monday 18/8/2025 at Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney. www.sydney.edu.au/museum/whats...
// not only has Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal left this matter unaddressed publicly and in her action plan to combat Jewish prejudice, but PM Anthony Albanese ... has left this issue festering...
www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/the-dis...
www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/the-dis...
The Disconnect Between the Antisemitism Moral Panic and Melbourne’s Nazis on Parade
Despite targeting young Muslim men over a supposed ‘antisemitism crisis’, police are turning a blind eye to blatant antisemitism by Caucasian, self-proclaimed neo-Nazis.
www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au
August 15, 2025 at 1:37 AM
// not only has Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal left this matter unaddressed publicly and in her action plan to combat Jewish prejudice, but PM Anthony Albanese ... has left this issue festering...
www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/the-dis...
www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/the-dis...
I know Heba in person - please have a read of this article to hear her voice. The situation is grim. The violence against minorities in Syria must be stopped. I urge the Australian government to take appropriate actions in response to this conflict.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
Heba’s days are spent thinking about a city on the other side of the world
In Sweida, in southern Syria, violence has been raging for weeks, and Syrian-born Sydneysiders are increasingly concerned about an escalation in the conflict.
www.smh.com.au
August 10, 2025 at 12:29 PM
I know Heba in person - please have a read of this article to hear her voice. The situation is grim. The violence against minorities in Syria must be stopped. I urge the Australian government to take appropriate actions in response to this conflict.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
A Shiseido poster from 1983 featuring models in kimono.
August 10, 2025 at 9:52 AM
A Shiseido poster from 1983 featuring models in kimono.
Alexander McQueen's design "La Dame Bleue" (2007) inspired by kimono.
August 10, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Alexander McQueen's design "La Dame Bleue" (2007) inspired by kimono.
Alexander McQueen's design "La Dame Bleue" (2007) inspired by kimono.
August 10, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Alexander McQueen's design "La Dame Bleue" (2007) inspired by kimono.
Pretending to be a samurai at the kimono exhibition.
August 10, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Pretending to be a samurai at the kimono exhibition.
Maybe the 1930s was the time when Egyptomania spread to Japan? Japanese obi (sash) with pottery design inspired by Ancient Egypt, c. 1930.
August 10, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Maybe the 1930s was the time when Egyptomania spread to Japan? Japanese obi (sash) with pottery design inspired by Ancient Egypt, c. 1930.
Reposted by Michael Fong
The Australian Chamber Orchestra's Richard Tognetti has warned that the ANU's plan to axe its School of Music would result in an "act of cultural vandalism", with another Canberra ensemble saying its offer to help has been rejected.
Australian Chamber Orchestra slams ANU plan as 'cultural vandalism'
The Australian Chamber Orchestra's Richard Tognetti has warned that the ANU's plan to axe its School of Music would result in an "act of cultural vandalism", with another Canberra ensemble saying its offer to help has been rejected.
www.abc.net.au
August 10, 2025 at 6:38 AM
The Australian Chamber Orchestra's Richard Tognetti has warned that the ANU's plan to axe its School of Music would result in an "act of cultural vandalism", with another Canberra ensemble saying its offer to help has been rejected.