Whoa Boston...!

First it was Randy Moss, then Kevin Garnett, and now Eric Gagne. Boston teams are loading up on talent, and in my memory, its the first time that all three relevant teams are looking to be contenders.

The Pats

Even during the three Superbowl years, the Pats didn't look this dominant. With Randy Moss, Troy Brown, and Dante Stallworth (plus others), Tom Brady finally has the WRs he deserves. With a much healthier lineup, the Pats look like a super team this season and may finally shed the role of underdog (Ha!).

The Sox

Their giant lead slipping away as the Yanks are finally playing like they should be, the still pretty dominant Sox get Eric Gagne for Kason Gabbard (had some quality starts) and David Murphy (CF prospect we don't quite need. See: Jacoby Ellsbury). I guess the lingering question is, how good is Eric Gagne today? Aside from a low K count, Gagne's numbers are not much worse than those of Jonathan Papelbon; not too shabby. Instead of two dominant closer type pitchers, the Sox now have three. A huge difference from last year's one. Comparing last season's entire pitching staff to this season's, the front office has done a tremendous job in creating both more than solid starting pitching, and a dominant bullpen. Despite a couple minor speed bumps, it is amazing how the offense and defense just came together this season.

The Cs

The biggest story of the three. Just as it looked every Celtic fan was about to slit their wrists over the Ray Allen acquisition, the Cs somehow are able to get KG while giving up Al Jefferson. KG and Pierce alone would have already been a dominant force. I hesitate to say that Ray Allen is complimenting them because he himself is fully capable of carrying a bad team. Suddenly, the Jordanesque Flymaster is looking to shine even brighter, no longer having to be the only good player on the team. Its a 270 degree turn for the Cs. It was all about putting right minded players with the same maturity level together. They still need to build a solid supporting cast, but what a change! Long gone are the days when Pierce and Antoine Walker are expected to lead this team into the playoffs.

The 11th Hour

Who's the Loser?

See this article from ESPN (watch the video too).

This is a perfect example of poor full of shit "shock jock" type sports journalists who aren't funny or entertaining... but they think they are. So news breaks that China is a definite no on whether Yi can play for the Milwaukee Bucks. So these stooges decide to downplay Yi's skill, make fun of his workout videos, and compare him to Darko.

My question for them is, if he's so bad, why was he picked 6th overall (and projected at 5th if not for the Boston trade)? If it was a big Bucks mistake like the Darko pick, then shouldn't they be grilling the Bucks for making a lousy pick? Just because Yi isn't allowed to play in the US, they turn on him and downplay his value as a player.

They also make fun of China and their "reasoning" for not allowing Yi to play for the Bucks. Is this even news? China already said they want Yi playing for a big city team from the beginning. For some reason, the Bucks continued to choose Yi, and now they have this mess on their hands. Why are these dumb sports jockeys even remotely surprised? I suspect that they just have nothing better to say.

Okay. The last couple paragraphs were more rant than reason. On to the more important part of this entry: who's the loser?

BUCKS: they took a big gamble in taking Yi at sixth overall, but it wasn't that big of a gamble in my opinion. I could totally see Yi playing for the Bucks. They have a great young team that is in contention for the playoffs. I thought the Bucks had a good chance of convincing Chinese officials of letting Yi play in Milwaukee. Even now, the Bucks didn't really lose that much. Yi's potential is unknown, and they still have a decent team. Not the loser.

CHINA: they already have Yao as their global icon (despite him being a disappointment NBA wise). Yi would probably take attention away from Yao Ming, and if Yi turned out to be a disappointment, China would see that as a negative. In their eyes, it may be a good thing that Yi's not going to the NBA. Not the loser (this time).

YI: poor guy never had a say in this decision. I'm sure he would have loved to play for the Bucks and make his millions, even if it was just for a couple years. Who knows, he might have busted out and actually become a decent NBA player. For now, we just don't know. Yi has lost his NBA opportunity and its not his fault. Unfortunately, Yi is the big loser.

At least Yi is a player on the Chinese national team. He'll get treated well whether he joins the NBA or not I guess.

Fun with Chemistry

Another experiment gone err... well, perhaps it wasn't so bad.

In hope of making my ice coffee stay cold longer while avoiding dilution by ice cubes, I froze some milk into cubes and put that in instead. Results were... interesting. The milk melted into tiny little pieces that resembled milk that had gone bad. What actually happened was that the high fat content in the milk caused it to separate while freezing. So the little chunks of milk fat floated out first.

In the end, it turned out great, but perhaps a better way is in order. Until next time.

I Win! (in a meaningless war)

We all hate telemarketing. In an attempt to prevent robots from taking over the world, Hong Kong passed legislation last year to outlaw automated telemarketing. This is a small victory for the people; however, human telemarketing is still allowed in full force. So if a person calls you instead of a robot, then its okay. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for robots is staggering.

I still get a marketing call about once every couple days. When I pick up, I refuse to be impolite unless they call when I'm roaming (because telemarketers should be smart enough to hang up when they hear the roaming ringtone). So instead I just pretend that I can't speak Chinese, and they usually hang up immediately. Thankfully my English is good enough to pull it off, but even if my English was shoddy, what could they do? Claim that I'm lying? Heh.

Anyways, even if they did attempt to sell me crap in English, I could probably outmaneuver them easily by using difficult SAT words. Yes, it is mean to step on someone for their loose grasp of a language, but then again they didn't have to call me in the first place.

Excellent Combination

Two recent discoveries:

1) The Palm Treo 750's camera sucks. I'm not picky about camera phones (kind of an oxymoron as it is), but with a sticker price of HKD6000 (relax, I didn't pay nearly that much) I expect something a little better than 1.3 megapixels.

2) Avocado goes really well with ponzu sauce.

I first saw people eat avocado this way in the late Juzo Itami's The Funeral. They basically cut the avocado in half, add a little soy sauce to where the seed used to be, and spoon it out. Not sure if that's how all Japanese people eat avocado, but it looked great.

A couple weekends ago I decided to try it with ponzu instead. The result was delightful.

So next time you get a ripe avocado, instead of making guacamole or a salad, try this method instead.

Cheapness Comes at a Price

The Hong Kong Jockey Club hands out free souvenirs on the final race day only to cause another near riot.

Another Jockey Club debacle? Who's responsible this time?

Just don't ask the Jockey Club, because the only answer you'll get is that its not them. Excuses like, "the people lost control", and "the police didn't do enough", are only two reasons JC is using to skirt responsibility.

A similar incident happened two years ago when 精英大師 souvenirs hats were handed out, causing a riot and twenty people injured. Can't the JC simply learn from their mistakes? Here's the real reason for both mini "riots": the JC only prepared 4000 souvenirs for 20,000 people. If you're going to give away stuff to only one fifth of the people, why even bother...? If you're going to hand out souvenirs to attract attendance, then at least take responsibility for your actions.

Back

Back from a relaxing weekend in Bangkok, followed by a hectic yet enjoyable week in Singapore. I can't say that my batteries are fully recharged since the Singapore trip schedule was so jam packed. When you try to mix work and play, you have to minus a considerable amount of sleep time.

Anyways, I'm back.

我們的祖國... 唉 Part VI

Sometimes stories about China make you laugh, sometimes they make you cringe. With this story, I'm not sure if I should cry or get mad.

Click here for an update on the ShanXi slavery incident.

Brick factories kidnapping kids into forced labor is the latest embarrassment in the Mainland. It is very sad to hear about the individual stories of fathers looking for their children who were abused and starved in these horrific working conditions. Children as young as 8 years old were forced to work in inhumane conditions: forced to work in still hot kilns to speed up production, not given medical treatment despite life threatening burns and wounds, some of the injured were even buried alive.

You hear about China's rapid economic growth, the 2008 Olympic games, and the modernity of Shanghai/Beijing. Then you hear about regions like ShanXi plagued by ruthless slave owners and human traffickers, you wonder whether it is the same country. A nation starving for growth can't be bothered to take care of its own people in the outermost regions.

What happened to cracking down on corruption? I can't stand see lines like "central government leaders shocked at news", cause its just bullshit. They know very well what goes on. They just choose to allow it to happen.

Another Happy Couple

My buddy Philip got married last weekend. Congratulations! A sarcastic thanks to Philip for the idiot ring fiasco!

www.flickr.com

Censorship Strikes Again

China censorship strikes again! Targeting foreign films is no surprise, but this time China has censored one of its own. Though no one is willing to admit it, most of Chow Yun Fat's scenes in Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End have been deleted in its China theatrical release. Now, them silly China internet folk are complaining about how Chow's role is depicted in the movie. They disapprove of his hair, his clothes, his behavior, claiming that it is a skewed Hollywood view of Chinese people.

Well, this may hold some truth, but then I challenge Mainlanders to tell me what a westerner of the 1500s looked like. Ninety-nine percent of them will derive their answers from movies or the internet. You can't expect a Chinese person to know what Westerners looked like 500 years ago, and you can't expected Americans to what Chinese pirates looked like 500 years ago. Plus, if Americans see Chow's image hair and clothes, and see a "Chinese pirate", then the filmmakers have reached their goal. Its no one's fault, but why remove footage of your own actor from a foreign film? Let the people see and decide for themselves what's right and wrong.

I guess the only way to see the complete version of Pirates is to watch the pirated version.

We Have A Winner

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a new candidate for the biggest wuss in Hong Kong. This time, its Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (yeah, what a load of crap, I know) party chairman, Ma Lik. This loser claims that the Tiananmen Square Massacre did not happen. Ma reminds me of those dumb fucks who claim The Holocaust didn't happen. Of course, there is strong speculation that China had ordered him to make such a silly statement. Perhaps China is thinking of deleting the massacre from its people's memory (including those in Hong Kong) entirely, and this is the first step.

So naturally, what does Ma Lik do after making this boldly absurd statement? He scurries off to China right before June 4th. Hopefully, his political career in Hong Kong is done. Unfortunately, he'll probably go on to bigger and uglier things in China for doing them this "favor".

Though right now its fun to make fun of Ma and laugh at the DAB, perhaps we should think about how China is trying to downplay/eliminate/ignore/deny the Tiananmen Square Massacre despite the whole world knowing about it so well. What measures will they take in the upcoming years to achieve this goal?

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6.4


不忘

By Popular Demand...

しるし (Shirushi) by Mr. Children

This performance is made of win and awesome. An amazing performance by Mr. Children and especially Sakurai. The song itself is already touching. This live performance makes it even more powerful. Add to that the idol girl in the audience couldn't help but shed a tear. I don't know how you can't be touched by this video. Pay attention to the lyrics as well; they are amazing.

The power of music strikes again!

Time to Retire, Mr. Ocean.

No not you, Mr. Soderberg. I'm sure you'll continue to make fine films. Just stop making sequels to your version of Ocean's Eleven.

When it comes to movies, I always try to "see good in bad". I saw Soderberg's Ocean's Twelve not long ago, and unfortunately, I didn't see much good. In this age of sequels, I can't blame Warner Bros. for wanting a sequel to 2001's hit. Its too bad they were walking straight in to a trap... set by themselves! Lets compare the two movies:

• Eleven: takes place in Vegas.
• Twelve: takes place in Europe.

For a "fun", caper movie, how can you top Vegas in terms of location? Different European venues just can't compare with the original Sin City.

• Eleven: introduces a slew of funny, interesting, and/or charismatic characters.
• Twelve: introduces maybe one or two new characters who aren't that interesting.

Again, its hard to win here. The novelty is gone, and it is difficult to focus on the same old characters again. One reason why you lose interest, is that there are too many people to keep track of. Unlike Eleven, they were all bright and shiny new, so the viewer's short attention span was able to stay happy.

• Eleven: focused plot and storyline.
• Twelve: storyline is confusing and boring.

You really have to watch it to understand what I'm saying here. The focus in Eleven was rob Benedict's casinos, with the subplot of Danny Ocean winning his wife back: pretty clear cut. Twelve has the gang trying to get enough money to pay back Benedict, end up doing odd jobs that don't pay up, and as it turns out there's a rival master thief behind it all toying with them just for fun. Even the big payoff twist in the end was very ho-hum. Well, it is possible that by then I no longer cared enough to pay attention.

Unfortunately, Ocean's Twelve was nearly a complete waste of time. I hear that they are indeed making another sequel, Ocean's Thirteen. This one is supposed to be back in Vegas. Maybe they'll get it right this time.

Only In America Part II

Judge sues dry cleaners for $65 Million over a pair of pants

The American legal system strikes again. This time, the victims are owners of a mom and pop dry cleaning store. The idiot offender is, believe it or not, a judge in the District of Columbia. A dry cleaning store misplaced the pants (which were found 3 days later) of Judge Roy L. Pearson Jr. He later denied that the pair of pants was his, and is now suing the poor owners for USD65 Million. He came up with that number through reasoning that makes zero sense:

• Included two years' cost of rental car for travel to different dry cleaners: he somehow thinks dry cleaning is a right and not a privilege.
• Denies the found pants are his despite the matching size and receipt number.
• Suing them for "satisfaction guaranteed" sign: they found his pants, they offered him enough money to buy 10 suits. What more does this moron want?

Why is this case even being take seriously? The VP of Common Sense would have thrown it out immediately. Oh wait... judges are supposed to be VPs of Common Sense. With Judges like Pearson, common sense does not exist!

...Only in America.

Bonus! Sherman Joyce offers to buy this slimeball a new suit. Seeing as to what a cheap bastard Pearson is, the suit should cost no more than $200.

That Bloody Sock

Sports journalist Gary Thorne alleges that Curt Schilling's bloody socks in 2004 during game 6 of the ALCS and game 2 of the World Series were fake, meaning the blood was painted on.

I never took this report seriously, and totally forgot about it after hearing it. Who knew that people took it so seriously? I check the websites and journalists actually spent column space on it. Unbelievable.

I was not surprised to see Curt defend his integrity on his blog. If someone said slanderous things about me and it was important to me, I would hit back too. What surprised me, was the response Curt got from readers/fans. A lot of people thought Curt went overboard, and that he overreacted while criticizing Thorne and other journalists. I'm pretty shocked. Curt has been kind and brutally honest on his blog. I don't see why he should hold back when defending himself against idiot sports journalists, who have given him shit since the day he stepped into Fenway as a Sock.

Athletes, especially those in a place like Boston are under constant scrutiny and pressure to win. Furthermore, the media base their reports on rumors of rumors, and make false accusations. Take Manny Ramirez for example. Last few seasons he was the best hitter and hardest working player on the team. Yet the media still labeled him as lazy and unmotivated, hence the phrase "Manny being Manny". It is no surprise that he wanted to be traded away from Boston when you get that kind of criticism.

When constantly bombarded with that kind of crap, I would be pissed too. Those playoff games meant a lot to the Sox, and I'm sure they were life defining moments for Curt. To be accused of something as stupid as painting blood on a sock during such an important moment is moronic and disrespectful. Besides that, I hardly see the logic here. The media took a momentous moment and had to try and add negativity to it. The event took place three years ago. Why even bother to bring it up, especially when the topic concerned is so meaningless.

I'm with Curt. He has the right to be pissed. People who don't understand his rage just haven't been insulted day in day out like he has.

The Power of Music

Above is the ending sequence for Japanese dorama Beautiful Life.

It is the sombre love story involving a girl in a wheelchair who eventually dies of leukemia by the end of the show. The eleven episodes are entertaining, heartwarming, and educational (thoughts of a disabled person in Japanese society). What I remember most; however, is the theme song for the series: 今夜月の見える丘に by J-pop/rock duo, B'z.

In the beginning, I liked the song. It was a catchy tune, it had a great sound, and a very powerful chorus. Now, the song makes me cry everytime I hear it. When I listen to this song, especially the chorus, I see the final image of the ending sequence where the two main characters are in a fantasy land (perhaps heaven?). The girl can walk again, and she is free of her wheelchair. Hand in hand, the two run across an open field, leaving the wheelchair behind. Only in death, is she finally free of her wheelchair and her disease. I hear that out of this world, super powerful chorus, and all these feelings and emotions rush into my mind.

That is the power of music and imagery.

Welcome Back, Baseball!

Ichiro Mania

Excited with the 2007 season so far. A couple things:

Its funny how so many were so upset about JD Drew. As of now, he's been the most productive Red Sock. A slight upgrade defensively, and a major upgrade with his offense: hitting, base running. A pretty complete player. Eric Hinske and Wily Mo Pena need more playing time. Hinske had a very impressive game during his only start. If only Coco Crisp could hit like he plays defense. When is Matsuzaka going to get some run support? I love how the Sox bullpen may have Papelbon handle the tough innings, and have the rest of the relievers handle everything else. It is a great strategy. Use Paps as a your trump card when absolutely necessary.

Red Sox baseball... I'm definitely feeling the excitement!

Keep me out of this

36% of Hong Kong people consider themselves "Chinese"

Hong Kong people associate themselves with Hong Kong rather than their mainland counterparts. Well of course! Who would want to be associated with all that lying, cheating, corruption, absence of human rights, spitting, smoking, extreme poverty, dirty money, scams, fake shit, fake shit that will kill you, China's rich, China's poor, pollution, communism, crappy health care, crappy health care that costs money, trumped up charges, laziness, lack of responsibility, politicians playing god, and believe me... the list goes on.

Apache Remix

Happy Friday

What have you done for me lately?

The above letter to the editor is old. However, since the recent buzz is all about Donald Tsang getting "reelected", I feel it is relevant. Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, just yesterday affirmed Tsang's position as the Hong Kong's Chief Executive. He praised Tsang's victory by a large majority vote, saying that the people of Hong Kong have a firm belief in his ability. When I heard that on the radio, I couldn't help but swear out loud. It is by far the biggest crock of shit I've heard in a long time. Wen's words couldn't be further from the truth. He knows it, and everyone in Hong Kong knows it. Who was he trying to fool? Oh that's right... China.

Yesterday on the radio, a rowdy caller complained about Tsang's track record. What has Tsang done for Hong Kong people? What has he done for the poor? The answer is obvious: nothing. He has done plenty for his buddies in big business. Tsang's campaign slogan was, "我會做好呢份工" (I will get the job done). The problem here lies in that Tsang never actually read the job description.

Big Business vs. The People

Last week's fire that destroyed the shops and product of countless merchants is not over. The fire has been put out, but small business owners are left without a business. They have no shop to operate from, and no product to sell. Many of the victims sold dried seafood goods that come with a high cost. They have lost tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.

Property owning giant, The Link (領匯), eloquently refuses to pay for any damages to the victims, despite failing to notify them that the emergency sprinklers were turned off 15 days prior to and during the fire. Not surprisingly, they immediately went into PR mode after the fire. Experts went on television and radio to explain how it wasn't their fault.

Some may think that The Link is making perfect sense, and that the merchants are hysterically trying to recoup their losses. What many don't understand, is the situation that these people are now in. They have basically lost everything. Anyone in their situation would be hysterical. Who wouldn't try to get their life back? While The Link's corporate fat cats sit around and skirt responsibility, the reality is that these victims have lost their business and some of them will starve.

A Nation of Prisoners

Doesn't it seem like so many of China's internationally recognized people are in prison?

Chen Guang Cheng is one of those people. A blind, rural activist who exposed China's forced abortions and mistreatment of women.

Despite being handed a 4 year prison sentence for the trumped up charges of, "damaging property and organising a mob to disturb traffic", Chen is highly praised and recognized internationally. He has received many awards for his efforts. In any civilized nation, he would be regarded as a hero. Instead, he is a prisoner.

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.

Best and Worst movie of the (my) week

Tasty beverage of the week: The Departed

Saw this on the plane, but thanks to Cathay (can't believe I said that), all the profanity and all the violence were intact. I enjoyed The Departed a great deal. I think one of the reasons why I liked it was due in large to Infernal Affairs. Million dollar question: was it better than IA? Lets see...

I must say that I enjoyed both films just as much seeing them for the first time. I remember walking out of the theater excited after seeing Infernal Affairs. It felt so complete, so well done. It stood out by a mile when compared to Hong Kong films at the time. The acting, the style, and the story were all brilliant. Because it was such an achievement in comparison to it's peers, some of the holes in the story and action could be forgotten.

First of all, I felt that The Departed filled in some of those holes that Hong Kong film making left in IA. Here are a few examples:

• Combining the "girlfriend" and "psychiatrist" roles. An excellent move. In IA, these two roles were nothing more than plot movers.
  
• Taking out all the cheese: the silly music they played when the undercover chief fell off the building in IA, silly techno/computer/unreasonable scenes, etc.
• The big big "security camera in elevator during showdown scene" question mark.
  
• Closure all in one film, so there will be no The Departed 2 or 3. A big mistake on the part of IA.
  

The Departed also had all the nitty-gritty-ness that IA didn't have. Departed is a violent film. Lots of punching and kicking and beating. Perhaps its the setting of blue-collar/Boston/mafia that requires the need for violent realism. I loved how all the cops swore at one another, shooting the finger at will, and making crude jokes. It truly felt like the Irish-catholic, chauvinistic culture of Beantown.

My two favorite characters were those played by Alec Baldwin and Mark Wahlberg. Funny, mean, and egotistical. Perhaps they were acting themselves, but it just fit the situation perfectly. Their roles also balanced out a lot of the tension the movie had in place. I can only describe them as chauvinistic, funny, assholes. Brilliant. Some said that Jack Nicholson's character was too over the top. I don't agree. If he wasn't sort of over the edge, nobody would be scared of him, and he probably wouldn't have lasted in that scenario. Smart and edgy fits his character well.

In comparison, Infernal Affairs though good, looks cheap compared to The Departed. They tried to look cool in the prequel and sequel, but over did it in my opinion. In the sequel: long black coats in July?! Give me a break.

After watching both films, I really feel that The Departed is much more refined and entertaining than Infernal Affairs. IA is good in its own way, but it needs a little more finesse to be at Departed's level.

Rotten turd of the week: Wo Hu 臥虎

Hmm... I don't know where to start. Crappiest Hong Kong movie I've seen this year. There's a whole slew of "famous" characters in this flick. Some are even great actors. Miu Kiu Wai was a high up police chief of some sort, in charge of undercover cops. He played this role horribly. His level of acting is only suitable for a B-level television series. Eric Tsang Chi Wai plays a smart gangster with no bite. Most of his chacter spends time being a romantic rather than a gangster. Pretty boring subplot to the film. Jordan Chan Siu Chun doesn't seem to take acting seriously anymore. Francis Ng Chun Yu is a good actor, but his role was poorly written. ... and so on...

The entire plot and storyline is a mishmash of poorly written character roles that don't meld at all. There were some twists in the end, but the film is such a mess, that you don't even realise they're twists anymore. It is my habit to watch movies till the end (and not quit halfway through), but I was seriously considering calling it quits on this low-budget piece o' crap.

Honorable mention: Udon うどん

Not near the level of Tampopo, but still a good Japanese movie about food. This time the main subject is... heh... udon. The movie is sometimes serious, mostly funny, and very appetizing. Japanese udon is such a simple food, yet it can take on many different forms and styles. This film takes place in a small town in Japan, which is considered the "Udon Mecca". The story begins with a failed comedian starts to work for a local magazine, that popularizes the town through udon. Eventually, people come to make "udon pilgrimages", but the results are mixed and there are other stories involved.

Udon is a good movie, and certainly worth watching if you're interested in food or Japanese culture in general.

Thank you, Whistler

My first time on the slopes was a blast. Learning how to snowboard was difficult at first, but eventually I got up to speed (literally) on the 2nd/3rd day.

Got beat up pretty bad by both gravity and mother nature. Though I have a suspicion that it was my own lack of skill/technique.

Anyways, an excellent 3 days in Whistler. I feel fully recharged and ready to go. Though due to some minor injuries, I'm not ready to go back to the gym just yet!

Desert Heat

Tiger Woods is in Dubai this week, and he's wearing shades on the golf course! That is something that I have never seen before. Certainly, they look fine, and they're probably made by Nike. If he doesn't like them, that means good news for the consumer.

Tiger Woods is very picky with the stuff he uses on the golf course. Off the course... not so much (er... lack of fashion sense [ahem]). My problem with sunglasses, is that they don't fit too good under the cap. Wearing both a cap and sunglasses at the same time have always been difficult for me. Hopefully, Tiger will run into the same problem, and Nike will solve it.

Oh... wishful thinking.

Colts 38, Patriots 34

Close Game, Tough Loss
What a game. It was all about offense. The Pats and Colts basically exchanged quarters, with the Pats dominating the 2nd, while the Colts came right back in the 3rd. It was almost a competition to see who would blink first. A worn down Tom Brady made a mistake in the final drive to end the game.

For me, it was a pretty devastating loss. We were leading by 18 at the half. The Colts' comeback was unbelievably quick. Everyone not named Brady made mistakes. We could have put this game away with our offense, but costly mistakes didn't allow that to happen. Reche Caldwell dropped the ball 80 times after making the winning catch last game. Our defense was pretty mediocre as well. The Colts' passing game blew right by us in the second half.

I am disappointed because we lost to the Colts, and also the chance to be in the Superbowl. I had plans for this Superbowl, and was dearly hoping the Pats would be a part of it. It felt like they would be part of the plan just last week up until the third quarter. Management needs to get their act together and get Brady some support. It's pretty much been a one man show this season.

Speaking of hot female athletes...

Serena Williams is not one of them.

Gym Character Transform!

I'm sure you all remember the infamous idiot gym characters, OSG and her "trainer" friend. If not, just click on the link to find out.

Apparently, this trainer friend is a gym regular himself. Though OSG is nowhere to be seen, "trainer friend" is not flying solo. Along for the ride is his own female trainer. Together, they are another dynamic duo that raises havoc at the gym I go to.

Since "trainer friend" no longer shows up with OSG, it looks like a new nickname is in order. Due to a trait of his that I may have failed to mention in the past, this nickname can only belong to him and no one else. "Trainer friend" has made the transformation; he has successfully emerged from his cocoon, budding into the infamous, ever-dreaded... EXCESS TOWEL BOY!

Now how could he possibly have earned this nickname? Perhaps you've already cut to the chase, and you're asking yourself how many towels did he have to take to earn this nickname? Here's the thing: Excess Towel Boy (ETB for short) has been seen carrying a stack of ten towels on his way to the gym. These towels are provided by the gym, mind you, so naturally he feels free to take as many as he can hold.

Once he starts working out, its like a tornado came through. Towels are everywhere! I have to flick away his towels in order to pick up equipment or barbells. I always know when ETB comes alone because I can see that the towel tornado has hit town. When he's with his trainer, the poor girl has to pick up his sweaty piles of cotton when he's finished.

Perhaps one day I'll grab all the dirty towels in the bin, and dump them where he normally works out. That will either send him a clear message, or to my dismay, he might just add to the pile.

Let the girl play... I suppose

This year's Sony Open at Kapalua came and went. Another sponsor's exemption was doled out to Michelle Wie so she could play against the men and not make the cut. And once again, tour players complained about how another precious exemption was given to a female who never qualified to play in a PGA Tour tournament.

I'm sure I can't imagine what a struggle it is to play tournament golf day in and day out. More difficult it is to have that be your sole method of income. So it is pretty much expected that guys who depend on these tournaments for their food and shelter will bitch and moan about a teenage girl taking a slot that could have belonged to one of their compatriots.

My advise to the "Michelle Wie Sony Open Exemption Slot" candidates, is to get one of two things: 1) a game, or 2)an image consultant. For some, a gym pass, plastic surgery, or membership to the Men's Hair Club may work as well (Men's Hair Club is arguable, since you may wear a hat all the time anyways).

Bottom line is, people want to watch Wie play. She has a game (for a 17 year old girl), a great swing, and she certainly looks a lot better than a majority of the PGA Tour players. So sorry D.J. Trahan, Craig Barlow, Wes Short Jr., and others. You didn't do much better than Michelle, and I'd much rather watch her miss the cut than watch you guys. I understand its your paycheck and all, but frankly, I don't care. For the viewers, professional golf is about entertainment. When Paul Goydos won, what did I get? That's right, lots of Michelle Wie eye candy, that's what.

So let Michelle Wie play all she wants, I'll watch her play prime time golf any day.

Finally

January First Two Thousand and Seven marks the day Hong Kong banned smoking in most indoor public places. All I can say is that its about damn time! The ban is certainly a sign of sophistication. The ill effects of smoking have long been known, and Hong Kong is finally doing something to protect non-smoking consumers and employees who want to stay healthy.

"無啖好食"
"食食吓飯要走出街，好唔方便". A woman complains that she can't have a "peaceful dinner(安樂茶飯)", since she now has to go outside to smoke. All I can say is that non-smokers have never been able to have a "peaceful dinner", and now they can finally have it. Think about it this way: cigarettes are what's interrupting your peaceful dinner, not non-smokers. If you choose to smoke, I guess you've also chosen to have inconvenient, crappy meals. This woman also claims that she will go out less in the future due to the ban. If you let cigarettes control your lifestyle and daily habits, I don't know how else to put it: you are a loser.

Its hard to believe all the ignorant moaning involved in this new ban. Karaoke managers claim that sales will go down by 20%. Where is this prediction coming from? Will people suddenly stop singing karaoke? Will the sales of karaoke machines for home use suddenly skyrocket? Have people all along gone to karaokes specifically to smoke? I predict the answers to be big fat NOs. Will health conscious people start visiting bars and karaokes more frequently? That is certainly possible. I know I might. I've been avoiding poorly ventilated bars and restaurants for quite some time now because of cigarette smoke. No more watery eyes, no more sore throat, and no more smelly hair/clothes.

"你又俾人買煙，又度度唔食得煙"
The last I heard, we still have something called a free-will. Another woman complains that cigarettes are for sale everywhere, yet people aren't allowed to smoke. Just because cigarettes are for sale, it doesn't mean you have to buy them... idiot. Though I would love to see cigarettes outlawed, its not the government's responsibility to stop you from killing yourself or wasting your money. When you do try doing these things, just don't drag the rest of us with you.

Happy 2007. Thanks for not smoking.

Merry Christmas!

Yes, happy holidays dear friends and loyal readers. This Christmas came and went so quickly. The busy work schedule makes the holiday time go by so fast. I spent a full day and a half shopping (something I almost never do) for gifts. Maybe that's where all the time went. I spent all of the 23rd in Causeway Bay and Central. I'm glad to say that I did all my shopping and gift wrapping within the allotted time limit. Unfortunately, I didn't quite get to enjoy much of the weekend.

Speaking of gift wrapping, I am known within my family to be somewhat of a cheapie. I wrap all my gifts with old newspaper instead of proper wrapping paper. Wrapping paper is nice, but I always get this heart wrenching feeling every time I tear it all up when opening gifts. Though beautiful and creative, store bought wrapping paper is such a waste of our precious resources. A couple of years ago, I decided to use newspaper instead. The results have yielded some pleasant surprises! The key is to find front-page type pages with big pictures. Check out two of the gifts from this year. Keep in mind that the wrapping is old newspaper!

A front page clipping from some quirky article.

An article on some new local film.

So if you haven't done so already, consider using old newspaper to wrap your gifts next year! ;)

Language Homocide

What a joke! I guess for Hong Kong's low ass standards, Tseng's mandarin is "good".

Shut Up and Sign Already!

Scott Boras is full of shit!
See why here.
Baseball isn't just about money...

Only In America Part I

Just to be fair, I'm starting a running segment called "Only In America". It is sort of a parallel to the popular ongoing "我們的祖國... 唉" entries. Through the OIA entries, we will see how America is just as ridiculous as the dumb shit that goes on in China. Arguably the two strongest nations in the world right now, are equally as screwed up.

Rabbi threatens a lawsuit if a Seattle airport doesn't add a menorah to their Christmas trees. The airport responds by taking down all the trees completely. People whine, Rabbi gets death threats, and the trees are eventually put back up... Only in America.

I can't believe that someone would threaten to sue over a Christmas decoration; or maybe I should believe it. Crap like this happens in all the time. Americans go to court over the most absurd disputes. Common sense doesn't always apply either. Like this case where a guy tried to sue Michael Jordan because he looked like him (for $832 million by the way). Then there's the infamous McDonald's Hot Coffee case, where the woman successfully sued McDonald's because her hot coffee was too hot.

Anyways, back to the case at hand. This guy's got it right when he uses the phrases, "hyper-sensitive" and "hyper-cautious". However, I disagree of him accusing the airport for being "hyper-cautious". The airport was just fed up with the silliness of it all. They probably didn't want to deal with litigation over something so petty and nonsensical.

At the same time, what was this Rabbi thinking? By threatening a lawsuit, all he's doing is giving himself and his religion a bad name in a country already filled with so much prejudice.

Chill out, its Christm... err... the holiday season!

My Favorite Jack

Jack as in the fictional Tom Clancy character, Jack Ryan. Though I have enjoyed my fair share of Clancy novels, I am referring to the three Jacks in the four Clancy films.

Patriot Games/
Clear and Present Danger
Clearly the most accomplished actor of the three, and likely to be the favorite Jack amongst the general public, Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan. I'll admit that I liked both of these movies. Action, politics, mystery, suspense, etc. Clear and Present Danger even had a cool Black Ops team sent to Colombia to disrupt activities of drug cartels, with Willem Dafoe as the commander, John Clark. Admiral Greer played in both films by James Earl Jones.

Certainly an above average effort by Ford. However, I didn't like him as Jack. He was a older, seemingly wiser, yet so naive. Like all of Ford's other acting roles, he was the goofy, handsome guy, who always did the right thing. Not much fun to watch, really.

The Sum of All Fears
Good Will Hunting and perhaps Chasing Amy were the only two watchable films this guy was in. Yep, Ben Affleck played a somewhat Twilight Zone-ish, parallel universe type Jack Ryan. The film sort of depicts Ryan as a rookie analyst for the CIA. He meets Greer for the first time, this time played by Morgan Freeman. John Clark appears again, this time played by the awesome Liev Schreiber.

He basically plays this loud, reckless, unthoughtful Jack. Fears is not a good film, and it is completely unwatchable because of Affleck. Bad acting, ho-hum action and storyline. I find everything Affleck pretty unwatchable these days, and I'm not on any sort of bandwagon. I just don't like his acting.

The Hunt for Red October
Brilliant! Just brilliant film with a top caliber actor in Sean Connery as Captain Ramius. Alec Baldwin plays my favorite Jack. This was the first Tom Clancy film I saw, and I can rewatch it any day of the week. The submarine tactics and operation is very well done. This is the kind of movie that you pick up something new everytime you watch it. I probably first saw October when I was 10 years old, and I'm not even sure why I liked it back then. Thinking back, I barely understood it. It was a pretty complicated movie in terms of politics and defection, and Cold War stuff in general.

The reason why I liked Jack this time, was that he fit the role pretty perfect. Again, a bit naive, but Baldwin at the time appeared young and earnest enough to pull it off without looking stupid. There wasn't all that yelling and screaming like in Fears. Instead it was a lot of reasoning and scenes of tense decision making. Jack (Baldwin) really looked like he wanted his target to understand and be convinced; Affleck in Fears just looked like he was shouting all the time. Ford looked clueless throughout most of his Clancy films, more like a happy go lucky guy fighting terrorists and drug cartels.

At the time when October first came out, I thought Alec Baldwin would be huge... then I heard about his brothers. Alec is pretty huge these days. He plays his roles to near perfection. He can do comedy as well as drama. Also check out The Cooler, Outside Providence, and his performance in Along Came Polly. Alec Baldwin is classic.

CIA guy says: "Stay away from acting, Ben".