Note: this entry is posted late... nearly a month late. Its not that I forgot by any means, but I was debating on whether I should post it or not. This blog is rarely this personal, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to stray off like this again. Well, then I went on vacation for 10 days, and to a couple weddings, and then decided that I'd post it. Had a couple of the usual drab lined up, but didn't feel like posting anything until I'd figured this out. It sounds like a big deal, but its really not I guess. Very little drama was involved. The small decision making process was more like a mental exercise for me.

(Oh, and yes, I'm back from the month's absence, thanks).

As September 18th rolls around again, I find that pain arrives at sporadic moments. It hits you not like the jab button in Street Fighter II, but more like an earthquake that comes with its own after tremors. Its no surprise that my deceased best friend, Kiki, still visits me after dark (via dreams). However, recently there was a dream that hit me ala earthquake style.

I had dreamt that I was five years old again, but with all the knowledge and experience of a 27 year old. I was basically living my life over again. My first reaction was how I could change the future, and most importantly, somehow prevent the death of my friend. Thoughts raced through my mind on how I would play out my life and what changes would be made. More impotantly, whether I would tell him the truth and somehow convince him not to get into his friend's SLK that night in September 2003, or would I simply blend in to his life and persuade him to do something else that night without revealing I knew the future. Still in the dream, I made plans to be in LA during that time, and I was super anxious to get through the next 17 years of growing up. Saving Kiki was the only thing on my mind, then *bloop*... I woke up.

The pain and disappointment hit me, and then came the tremors in waves. By waking up, I almost felt as if I had ruined the opportunity to make a difference.

Well, as they say, life goes on. So cheers brother, wherever you are. I will drink to you tonight.

What a Load of Crap

China's safest city is Hong Kong. Well... duh. I wouldn't expect anything less. Also, I'm totally unsurprised that Guangzhou was number 13 on that list. I wouldn't say GZ is a dump, but security/safety wise, its the pits. In fact, I'm wondering why it isn't lower than 13. Same goes for Shenzhen. Why is it 11 on the list? These two cities should both be something like 95.

What really tickles me (in a really negative way) is the list of most beautiful cities in China. They actually dared to put Shenzhen at third place on the list. Describing it as "青春都市美" (Young Beautiful City) on the "美態定位" (Beauty Position). Uhh... what? Chinese love to make up stupid bullshit when describing things. Plus, anyone who's been to Shenzhen knows that nothing there comes even remotely close to the word beauty. It is dirty, polluted, run down, and nothing close to beautiful.

Its almost like they make this shit up just to force people into believing these cities are actually somehow beautiful. Its so ludicrous and far from the truth, I get a headache as I'm typing this.

公道?

富 家 子 偷 竊 改 判 罰 款

【本 報 訊 】 國 際 速 遞 公 司 DHL 大 中 華 區 總 裁 許 克 威 的 兒 子 ， 去 年 五 月 被 指 於 名 店 Louis Vuitton （ LV ） 中 環 旗 艦 店 內 ， 偷 竊 兩 件 共 值 8,300 元 T 恤 ， 被 判 偷 竊 罪 成 入 獄 九 星 期 。 他 不 服 定 罪 及 判 刑 太 重 提 出 上訴 ， 高 等 法 院 昨 維 持 其 定 罪 裁 決 ， 但可 獲 減 刑 ， 改 判 罰 款 一 萬 元 。

26 歲 上 訴 人 Hsu Andrew Huang 曾 從 事 基 金 經理 工 作 ， 去 年 12 月 判 罪 成 後 准 保 釋 等 候 上 訴 。 法 官 昨 認 同 ， 上 訴 人 沒 有 案 底 ， 非集 團 式 偷 竊 ， 故 判 入 獄 九 星 期 確 明 顯 過 重 ， 遂 改 判 罰 款 。

Rich boy steals $8,300 t-shirt. He's sentenced to nine weeks in prison. Not happy with the sentence, he appeals and the judge decides to impose a $10,000 fine instead of the prison term. Now how is this fair? $10k barely covers the price of what he stole. At least tack on nine weeks of community service to go along with the fine. It should be obvious to the judge that $10k is pocket change to these people. How are people supposed to trust in a justice system like this?

Heroes

Anita Roddick 1942-2007

Dame Anita "Queen of Green" Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, was a hero of the environment. She started recycling and promoting environmental protection before it became fashionable. The difficult part about promoting green to the masses is that its not always fun and attractive. Roddick was able to achieve that. She made recycling, banning animal testing, human rights, and supporting third world countries fashionable. She was able to promote the causes she deemed important, while creating a great brand of cosmetics.

You will be missed, Anita.

Re: In Response...

Hey folks, see the original post and its responses here.

Re: John

Everyone I've talked to is excited about China's rapid development, and their "becoming a superpower", and "overtaking the US" mentality. I'm not excited. Can't stop development, but as China grows, they should really consider patching up its gaping problems at the same time.

I doubt the Olympics will fail more than it failed in Atlanta eleven years ago. I guess I hope they succeed, and at the same time shine a huge spotlight on the nation's issues. But does the world really care about starving Chinese kids in rural villages? A lot of China's problems are far from "global". Will the world care?

Re: Edith

Of course the US elections play a role. However, I think the problems I'm more focused on are China's own issues that the US deep down does not care about. I mean, is corruption in China really that important to the rest of the world? The people who ultimately suffer are Chinese citizens.

When someone tells you whether your market is free, then I guess its not really free.

Re: Joe

Thanks for the history lesson ;)

China is still considered by most of the world as a "Communist State"; hence my mistake. I'm no expert, and I don't claim to be. I just tell it as I see it.

Moving Rubber

Say what you will about men using hair product. I'd rather do without it, but on most days I need it to not look like an untidy loser. Having soft, thin hair doesn't help either, since hair has a mind of its own, and mine is always asleep or getting there. Hair product to the rescue.

Back in the 80s and early 90s, men used gooey gels and hair spray. Useful, but often too sticky and gross. It also made you look like you had just got out of the shower, all day long. Gels and sprays always smelled funny. A mix of alcohol and glue. Pretty disgusting stuff. Then some good people invented creams and clay to style the hair. Its so revolutionary, that many people wonder what they did before clay was invented, much like mobile phones.

Now you could make yourself presentable, without looking like you were trying too hard (read: Vanilla Ice circa 1990). Choose different levels of control and shine and a type of clay that suited your hair type. (Sure this sounds very metro, but just remember that women dig a well groomed man).

The whole point of this entry is to mention that I've found a great line of hair stuffs from the Japanese maker, Gatsby. They made six or seven types of hair cream/clay, and gave them a very Japanese name: Moving Rubber (pronounced "moo-bing laaba" in Japanese). At first it really looked like a marketing gimic, but they've made some good stuff! The wide array of clays is also very thoughtful on their behalf. Check it out, here.

Kimura is moving rubber.

Greetings from Sapporo (again)!

Just got back from a relaxing trip to Hokkaido. The weather was perfect: cool and dry. Summer really is the best time to visit Hokkaido. The food, the weather, and the natural beauty are just right. We spent the first afternoon doing some shopping, and had dinner at a izakaya style restaurant.

The next day was also spent in Sapporo, which included more sightseeing and shopping. Above is the shrine we visited. Below is the Sapporo Beer Garden.