Chill out, modern day Persians

Iran is mad at the film, 300, because it depicts the Persians as an evil people. It puts Persians in a bad light. I hate to break it to them, but most Westerners are probably too dumb to relate Persia to modern day Iran.

As an ignorant outsider, I wish Middle Eastern folk would ignore the movies and comic strips, and focus on real issues. Call me insensitive, but I think they're overreacting over nothing.

Kyle Francis sums it up pretty well here. 300 is so blatantly exaggerated and unrealistic, I don't know how anyone could somehow compare it to reality. So instead of criticizing the things that are obviously not real, perhaps they should put efforts in movements that actually mean something.

A Bad Decision, or Just Poor PR?

Animal rights activists want four month old polar bear, Knut, dead.

Strange but true. Knut, the polar bear was rejected by its mother. Since then, a Berlin zookeeper has been racing Knut by hand. The activists are all worked up because they think the bear should die as nature intended it to. The mother rejected her cub, and humans shouldn't interfere. They don't want Knut to become another zoo animal.

It is nice to see some consistency from the activists, but it makes you think: 1) Are they making any sense? For the most part... no. 2) Did they give it any thought before releasing this opinion? Probably not. Certainly an boneheaded move on the activists' behalf. The bear will live a life of comfort. With polar bear numbers diminishing as global warming gets more severe, isn't it prudent to save as many bears as we can? Letting another polar live does no one any harm. Another live polar bear allows more people to appreciate it, and perhaps it will spark more effort in saving the bears and repairing the environment.

By wanting the polar bear dead, the activists have put themselves in a very bad position. Now everyone has the impression that activists are hypocrites, too extreme, and borderline ridiculous. They lose credibility for having an opinion that is perceived as ludicrous. Yes, they have a point, but does it make sense? Instead of being so inflexible, the activists should have seen this trap miles away. Winning the hearts of the public is the way to further their cause.

Perhaps they need what Bill Simmons often suggests pro sports teams need: a common sense consultant.

$1.25 Dinner

Couple days ago, after hearing about the $1,000 pizza, I heard about the $10 dinner. That's 10 Hong Kong dollars folks, not USD (HKD10 roughly equals USD1.25).

A guy who lost his job was telling his story on the radio, and he was asking no one in particular how he could cook a dinner with ten Hong Kong dollars. As is the case with many jobless Hong Kong people, work opportunities are running out, and they are too proud to get on welfare.

Back to the ten dollar dinner... no one could give him an immediate answer. Sure, you can probably get something off McDonald's cheapie menu, but that's about it, and its hardly a meal. Later in the day, one of the DJs asked a cleaning lady the "ten dollar question", and she was able to give him an answer quite easily.

Beef Soup

Ingredients:
Beef - $5
Tomatoes - $2
Potatoes - $3

Recipe: Boil all the ingredients in water. Take out the potatoes and deep fry them.

"Tastes really really good", she said.

The moral of this story: while some of us burn away money in extravagance, others are struggling to survive. The middle class is getting smaller and smaller. While some can't imagine preparing a meal with ten dollars, there are many who must find ways to make it happen; and they do.

Meanwhile, someone in NYC is chowing down on a $1,000 pizza.

$1,000 Pizza

New York City: home of the $40 burger and the $100 omelet, is now home to the outrageous $1,000 pizza.

You heard that right! The 1K Pizza, created by the owner of Nino Bellisima, is probably more a publicity stunt than anything else. A pretty good ploy: everyone in America has heard of his ridiculous pizza, and of course they've also heard of his restaurant's name as well. Spend a couple grand making sample pizzas for the press and customers has gotten Nino Selimaj some pretty cheap nationwide advertising. Not bad for a day's work.

Onto the pizza: it has creme fraiche, chives, four different kinds of caviar, 4 ounces of thinly sliced lobster tail, salmon roe and Japanese wasabi horseradish. No cooking is required, but an order must be made 24 hours ahead of time.

Is it worth it?

Not even close! Without trying it, I can already tell you that $85 for a small slice is way over the top. Forty dollar burger? I can understand that. Best quality beef plus truffles, and I can imagine it costing $40. Hundred dollar omelet? Crazy, and out of my league, but feasible! I can envision an omelet costing that much if you put enough extravagant items in it.

I don't blame Selimaj. All he's doing is promoting his restaurants. I blame those people who will actually spend a thousand bucks on this pizza. No point in elaborating, but my advice is spend one tenth of that money on a regular pizza and donate the rest to charity... please.

1) Press 2) Off

【大公報訊】記者劉家莉報道：○七年高級程度會考和中學會考即將開鑼，為杜絕考生利用手機作弊，考試及評核局勸喻考生勿帶手機進入試場，並加重懲罰沒有關上手機的考生，在無作弊的嫌疑下，最輕亦會被取消該科成績。提早離場的考生亦不得帶走試卷。

○六年中學會考共有二百九十宗沒有關上手機而被扣分及降級的個案。考評局學校考試及評核部總經理許婉清昨日表示，今年將加重懲罰沒有關上手機的考生，最高懲罰由以往的成績降級，改為取消全部科目考試成績。

許婉清說：「現有手提電話有很多功效，甚至有些可以儲存很多文字，變成了可作弊的工具，為了加強考試的公平和公正，所以今年加重罰則。」試場亦嚴禁使用包括電子手帳傳呼機、MP3機及可顯示文字功能的手表等電子通訊器材。

若考生提早離開試場，必須得到監考員批准，亦不得帶走試卷，否則可能被取消該科成績。考評局解釋是避免有考生早退將試卷提供予另一名遲到的考生「出貓」。考卷使用電腦條碼的系統，將會推廣至多項選擇題，考生在回答時，需要將電腦條碼貼在答題紙上。

考 評局今年首設「公開考試資訊中心」，中心已於本周一運作，公開試期間，考試局特別派出七至八名員工接聽電話，解答考生疑難。對於有自修生「請槍」代考數學 科，許婉清表示，現時擁有成人身份證的自修生准考證不需要貼上相片的做法，其實與國際考評機構相同。但她坦言監考員核對考生身份時亦「有機會看漏眼」，考 評局不排除日後要求成年的自修生准考證同樣貼上考生相片。

Due to incidents of kids cheating on exams through the use of mobile phones, the government has take extreme measures to ensure that mobile phones are turned off during exams. If a test taker's mobile phone rings or vibrates during the exam, that will be automatically disqualified for all tests. It is a big punishment in comparison to last year's drop of one grade.

Some students complain that the punishment is too harsh. True, the DQ is a bit shocking at first, especially since a phone going off doesn't necessarily equal cheating. Think of it this way though: if you're too stupid to turn off your phone during one of the most important tests of your life, then you probably should have stayed home in the first place. I'm pretty sure that there are reminders to shut off mobile devices everywhere. Forgetting is not an excuse. Not knowing how is no excuse. If you don't know where the on-off button of your phone is, you're not qualified to use it.

Okay, some phones are difficult to use. The alarm goes off even when the power is off. It can be complicated! Simple solution: remove the battery.

Damn... they should make this a test question.

Just A Friendly Reminder

More on the shoes...

Its pretty amazing. The shoes look pretty nice as is, but when you see 100 people wearing them, and then compare them side by side with non-Chinese made shoes, its pretty obvious.

Alex said...

That is very interesting, because I work with this one older mainland woman at my company. In every conversation I had with her she always tries very hard to prove that she is not the poor one.
Example one when I talked about playing blues with my co-worker Pete. She would jump in "oh my son plays the piano" (Sounding like that is a higher class instrument) and while we are trying to push the idea of the entire company is working together as a team, she constantly have the need to point out who is at what level within the org chart (Who’s the boss).

Re: alex

All Mainlanders have a chip on their shoulder. The smart ones were looked down upon wherever they went, despite being pretty darn smart. The rich ones were looked down upon even though they were filthy rich. Think about it: a couple years back when rich Mainlanders started sprouting up and coming out (HKers affectionately call these people 暴發戶, which roughly translates to "New Money"). No one gave them any respect. They wore the best clothes and flung around the most money, yet they were frowned upon. At the same time, they were unmistakably from the Mainland thanks to their haircut, their accent, the squatting, the chain-smoking, and other little nuances. However, that's besides the point.

Years ago, their perception was: "if I get rich, I'll be respected", or "if I get smart, I'll be respected". That's why you see Mainland Chinese guys spending Gs like a rapper: in excess. They want to announce to the world that they've made it. If they're smart, or they've got something to show-off, they're going to make damn sure that everyone knows. That explains why your colleague is so eager to let her "wealth" be known. It is especially important that you: a Chinese person well settled into American society who speaks perfect english and has tons of white friends, understand that she's "better than you".

I see this kind of shit everyday. I deal with these Mainlanders who work for American companies. Some of them have higher wages than me. Because of their high pay and American employer, they really do think that they are light years ahead of you in terms of status. Not only do they think they're "the boss", but at the same time they have to put on a show for their employers to prove that they're worth that high salary. I'm talking high. These guys can make up to ten times the amount of an average worker employed by a local company, doing the same job. I don't see their value, other than some broken english, and some superior arse-kissing ability. Yet, they're still treated like just another Mainlander when they step foot into Hong Kong; hence, the chip on the shoulder.

How to spot a Mainlander Part I

This series is not meant to make fun or discriminate against Mainland Chinese folk. I'm simply pointing out patterns and behavior that they themselves may not have noticed. Hopefully, they won't take this too seriously.

Let us start with the basics. I once read somewhere that when women meet men, the first thing they look at are his watch, and his shoes. Of course this may not be true in all cases. What the author was trying to point out, was that one can tell a man's wealth through his timepiece, and his footwear. At one point in time this may have been true. Rich guys don't always dress nice, but they'll always wear that rare, classic watch and their $2000 loafers. Not so rich guys may be able to afford nice clothes, but they are not able to afford the expensive shoes, or the $100k watch.

Can you differentiate wealth from a guy's shirt? Sure, but it is a lot more difficult. Can you honestly tell the difference between a $50 shirt and a $500 one? In two minutes? Also, a $500 shirt isn't so outrageous as a $300,000 watch. Something like that just stands out. Anyways...

Nowadays its different: rich guys wear Swatch watches and Nike sneakers (okay fine, Prada sneakers). It is much harder to decipher wealth by those key items anymore. Believe it or not, Lee Ka Shing wears a Seiko. Old Money take their Ferrari's and show up at the Dai Pai Dong in their flip flops. The trend is for the wannabe rich to dress up, and the rich to dress down. Compensation, I guess.

Lucky for us, you can still easily tell a Mainland Chinese male by their watch and their shoes.

For the watch, they always wear this variation that has a very thin face (no, not Patek Philippe mind you). Usually, it is accompanied by a leather wristband, or a thin metal band. Once you've seen one, you'll definitely recognize it: thin face, super simple design, almost always a gold colored face.

The shoes usually have a pointy toe. They are always a really shiny black, and they always have an emblem of some sort. I've been through a whole Chinese department store, and failed to find a pair of men's leather shoes without an emblem. Take a look at these two variations.

I noticed these things a long time ago, but it really hit me during the Chinese New Year holiday. During that week, Hong Kong was suddenly filled with people wearing these shoes and those watches. Pretty amazing.

The Mind Wanders...

Yes, I know I've been away. Two posts in nearly one month is pretty pathetic. I basically put myself into complete vacation mode during the Chinese New Year holiday. I checked work email, but only responded to important ones. Last week was the first week of work after the holiday, and I basically just drifted through it. Kinda scary if you ask me. Though China wasn't running at full steam yet, I should have been preparing the goals for this year and figuring out how to achieve them. Instead, I slithered my way through the week while battling a minor stomach flu.
If you need some motivation this week, perhaps this video will help (or not)...

The Most Important Win

Oscars 2007 came and went. To be honest, it was quite a bore. Ellen Degeneres has always been a fine comedian, no qualms about that. However, everything in between just wasn't all that entertaining. Most of the acceptance speeches were ho-hum. Not saying that giving an acceptance speech in front of the whole world is easy, but I spent the whole time nervous that the winners would do something embarrassing. One of the worst things is being unable to finish your speech, and having the Oscar music chase you off stage. Even worse than that is demanding that you be able to finish while that Oscar music is playing. Its like begging for your life as the guillotine drops... embarrassing. If it were me, I would have prepared an original, interesting, or meaningful speech. At least do what Michael Moore did: make a friggin statement. Having said that, I guess my favorite acceptance speech was by Forest Whitaker. See it here.

Just kidding... its actually here.

Personally, I was especially looking forward to the best documentary category. I was truly hoping that An Inconvenient Truth would win. The last time I wished so hard for a movie to win was when Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away was nominated for best animated film. AIT won. Not only was the win well deserved, it was extremely important. More people need to see this film. Hopefully, with the Oscar win, AIT will gain even more popularity, and its message will spread. The environment that we have nearly destroyed needs saving. Lets at least play a small role in repairing our mistakes.

Oh, and congrats to Marty, too.