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)...