Movies

The other night, when I was on my way out to dinner, I popped into the lounge on the ground floor and saw that the last 10 minutes of High Fidelity, the 2000 movie starring John Cusack, was on. Later that night, at around 3:00am, while I was in the lounge on my floor to get some hot water, I turned on the TV and saw that the last 10 minutes of High Fidelity was on AGAIN!

(Sigh...) I've been looking for a copy of High Fidelity for AGES. I couldn't download it while in Canada (before the huge crackdown - or was it just a ruling? - on downloading), and still couldn't find it at either DVD "stalls" (where DVD's cost less than $1 CAD) or in DVD shops (where they cost $1.20 to $1.50 CAD) in Beijing. And there's no way in hell I'm going to pay $20 CAD for it in Canada!

I remember watching High Fidelity accidentally, and I don't even remember where I watched it, but it could have been on a plane or on pay-TV. Anyway, High Fidelity is about a cool guy who recounts his 5 most memorable break-ups. No, I don't have a morbid fascination with break-ups, and it's mere coincidence that break-ups have been mentioned in 2 consecutive blog entries. Anyway, I found the movie to be quite clever and funny, and the biggest shock was at the end when I found out that Jack Black can SING! The only person who can do Marvin Gaye better than Jack Black is Marvin Gaye.


The strange thing about High Fidelity is that I only watched it once. That's never the case when it comes to movies I like a lot.


Like La Bamba, the movie about the life and death of the rock star Ritchie Valens. Such catchy music, especially La Bamba and Donna, and such a cute (but sad) little movie. It's ALWAYS on TV, and every time it's on, I watch it. It's not a great film, but it makes time pass nicely. Since I must have watched it more than 20 times, I can probably recite the lines by now.



But a movie I've watched more times than I'd like to admit (and probably more times than La Bamba) is Notting Hill. It's not that I'm a fan of Hugh Grant, or of British movies that come in a can, or of chick flicks, but this movie is also always on TV, and I also watch it every time that it's on. I bought the DVD in Beijing for about 80 cents CAD, but I'm not going to tell you how many times I watched it. Sadly, I've probably watched this movie more times than any other movie out there. There's just something about this reverse-Cinderalla story that I just love. It was so inspiring to see an average guy get the girl of his dreams, and the thing is, the same thing happened to me. Too bad it didn't last.


My all-time favourite movie has got to be Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, the 1989 time travel movie starring Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter. I watched this movie when I was quite young, and it really had a profound influence on me: it sparked my interest in history. Perhaps this movie, as well as most of the others out there, are full of historical inaccuracies, but it's fun to watch these movies anyway. It's fun to distinguish fact from fiction, and I can be understanding when scriptwriters take some liberties with some facts and sequences in order to make a story flor better. Anyway, I had absolutely no clue who those historical figures were when I first watched that movie, but that changed really soon. As with High Fidelity, I couldn't find this movie on DVD in Beijing either, and I never had a copy in Canada. Fortunately, it was shown on TV relatively frequently, so I could watch it at least twice a year or so. The sequel is funny, but it lacked the history aspect of the first, so was a bit less interesting for me.

Mixed-bag entry

I've been neglecting this site for way too long.


I've been sick with the flu for the last few days, but this is a kind of flu I've never experienced before. Instead of having a sore throat and coughing and sneezing all the time, I've had some terrible fevers, and am either simultaneously or alternating between feeling extremely hot or extremely cold. I also periodically experienced pain in my lower back, shoulders, and left knee. Very bizarre. I'm beginning to wonder whether or not this was really a flu. How do doctors know, anyway? They just ask a few questions and make a judgement. It MIGHT be something else, something much more serious, right? And every time I have the flu in Hong Kong, doctors ONLY give me panadol (a.k.a. Tylenol), whereas in Canada, I'm always prescribed anti-biotics. I ask doctors here if they're going to prescribe anti-biotics, and they explain, "No. Influenza is a virus, so anti-biotics won't do any good." Strange. Can you doctors and pharmacists explain?

Oh, and I've been freaking out today. My left shin is a mess! It feels bruised and looks like there's a rash. Maybe it's from kickboxing, since I've been using both of my shins to block kicks in Muay Thai class, but I haven't had a class in a week (I skipped today's class, and Monday's class was cancelled due to Easter), AND there's nothing wrong with my right shin. My buddy Trylon - yes, that's his real name - said that hairline fractures actually heal relatively easily, but my concern is that it may be something more like the flesh-eating disease!

I'm worried that my leg injury, if it is indeed a bona-fide injury, may prevent me from playing sports in the next little while. Since early March, I managed to lose 12 lbs in 4 weeks and 16 lbs in 6 weeks, and I'd hate for this progress to be wasted, let alone halted. Yes, I know you're all probably curious about my weight-loss. I lost the first 10 lbs in the 4-5 days after my break-up, and kept it off (and lost more) thanks to Muay Thai.


Perhaps the rapid and wild fluctuations in temperature are responsible for my flu. I've been using air-conditioning since mid-March, but temperatures dropped by up to 10 degrees celsius last week, so perhaps I wasn't prepared for that. Well, one good thing that came out of the sudden drop in temperature was that I got to eat all-you-can-eat hotpot, which is perfect for cold days. Temperatures have been hitting 30 degrees again in the last couple of days, though.


Oh, President Hu Jintao is in the US right now. Did he go straight to the White House? No, he went to Bill Gates' house first.

The world's richest man can do anything, can't he? He doesn't even have to stand up when the president of China and the CEO of Microsoft shake hands. It doesn't matter if he looks stupid with a shit-eating grin on his face, looking up at two men shaking hands. The People's Daily's crappy photographer didn't help much either. I'm not saying I could do any better, though.


There, I finally wrote something, even though it's crap. The quality-control part of me will hate me later.

Happy 100th!

Wow, my 100th blog post! I'd better make it a good one.

100.. it's such an interesting number, isn't it?

Damn, can't think of anything clever to say.

On second thought, I'll make this post a non-post.

Goodbye, Thaksin. Is Berlusconi next?

On Tuesday, Thailand's Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, resigned from his post only 3 days after his party won 57% of parliamentary seats (and 66% of the popular vote) in a snap election (and only a year after he led his party to a landslide victory in another parliamentary election).

Mr. Thaksin, by the way, was the richest man in Thailand at the time that he was first elected to power. He has since hidden his wealth by various means, such as 'selling' his company off to his family members at nominal prices.


Thailand isn't the only place in which the richest man in the country runs the show - Italy's richest man, Silvio Berlusconi, also happens to be prime minister - and there's a chance HE may lost his post too! We'll know after April 10th.


How did the richest men in Italy and Thailand rise to become their respective countries' prime ministers? And why would they want to enter politics, especially at such a grand and public level? Would Bill Gates ever run for president of the United States?

Thaksin and Berlusconi founded their own political parties, Thai Rak Thai and Forza Italia, respectively, after becoming the richest men in Thailand and Italy, respectively. While Thaksin made his fortune in mobile telecommunications (but also partly in media), Berlusconi made his fortune in TV media (among other things). No doubt their wealth and their control the media helped their campaigns. As for Thailand, there were suggestions that Thais, weary from years of economic stagnation after setting off the Asian Economic Crisis, believed that if Thaksin were qualified enough to become the country's richest man, surely he could lead Thailand to prosperity. As for Berlusconi, it didn't hurt that he owns AC Milan, one of Europe's most popular football clubs, as well as a symbol of Italy.

The wealthy certainly have their advantages when it comes to electoral politics. It's not that difficult to transform money into power and influence. You don't have to look any further than the US and its political dynasties such as the Bushes-Walkers and the Kennedys. And it's no coincidence that Mike Bloomberg, ANOTHER media mogul (net worth: $5 billion USD), who spent $73 million USD of his own money on his 2001 election campaign, is now the mayor of NYC. With those kinds of funds, I bet Hitler could win an election in Israel!

Some people probably believe that Thaksin and Berlusconi sought the highest elected post in the land (the king is head of state in Thailand) because of their oversized egos and boundless ambition, or because they've achieved enough as business leaders and want to experience a new challenge, or that they have kind and noble hearts and want to make a difference. Other people may be more cynical. Some say Berlusconi sought the highest political post in the land in order to escape prosecution for improprieties (a.k.a. crimes) such as insider trading during his days as a businessman. Taksin, on the other hand, was forced from office due to his attempts to evade taxes from selling his - oops! I mean his FAMILY'S - remaining $1.88 billion USD stake in one of their firms.

Before we all condemn the extremely rich for entering into politics, let's look at one important potential benefit of having someone wealthy in public office: those who are wealthy enough and who can fund their own political campaigns may be incorruptible. In many democracies, political campaigns are costly affairs, and politicians must engage in a lot of fundraising. People or companies who contribute funding to political campaigns sometimes donate money to a particular political party or candidate because they believe in the candidate, but other times, they attach strings to such money. If, say, an arms contractor gives $10,000 USD to someone who's running for a seat in the Senate, perhaps the contractor would expect the candidate, if elected, to not only vote for an increase in arms spending, but also to award arms contracts to their firm. This is the scourge of many democracies, especially the world's second biggest democracy. I believe that without such campaign funding and lobbying, Americans would be driving electric cars, smoking would be banned, gun ownership would be strictly controlled, and vice presidents wouldn't orchestrate wars and award 'reconstruction' contracts to their former companies.


Despite Thaksin's resignation and the possibility that Berlusconi's Forza Italia and its coalition partners may lose the upcoming election, Thaksin and Berlusconi have the distinction of being the longest-serving democratically elected prime ministers in Thai and (post-war) Italian history. Even as late as the 1990's, Thailand's prime ministers have been known to be overthrown in military coups. A look at the list of Thai prime ministers will show that roughly half of them also have military titles. Civilian prime ministers usually last for less than a year, while some military prime ministers such as Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn hold onto their posts for as long as a decade! As for Italy, those of you who know politics know that Italian politics has always been a joke and that prime ministers and parliaments, like civilian Thai prime ministers, rarely last more than a year. In the 20th and 21st centuries, only Benito Mussolini has been prime minister longer than Berlusconi, and we all know Berlusconi is nowhere near as manipulative, ruthless, or power-hungry as Il Duce.

The sonofabitch at Park N' Shop

There is a tiny 'supermarket' in the Chong Yuet Ming Amenities Centre at HKU. If it weren't part of the Park N' Shop chain, I would call it a store. I suppose it's no coincidence that the supermarket in that building is a Park N' Shop, which part of the A.S. Watson Group, which is owned by Hutchison Whampoa, which, as we should all know, is owned by Mr. Li Ka Shing, a.k.a. "Superman" (EDIT: Mr. Li, with assets of $18.8 billion USD, is the world's 10th richest man, according to Forbes Magazine). Chong Yuet Ming, by the way, is Mr. Li's late wife. Until last year, Mr. Li was far too modest to allow donor recipients to name buildings and institutions after him. The CYM Amenities Centre is adjacent to the CYM Chemistry Building and the CYM Physics Building.

There isn't much variety in this supermarket, but I do buy some things, e.g. biscuits, once in a while. I normally go to the big Wellcome Superstore (owned by rival Jardine Matheson via Dairy Farm) at The Belcher's/Westwood down the hill.

Because I will screen a movie at Graduate House tonight, I'm responsible for buying snacks and drinks. I went to the Wellcome Superstore after my Muay Thai class yesterday, but the vast amount of fruit I bought prevented me from buying the snacks and drinks I need tonight. I'm a bit pressed for time today, so I went to the mini Park N' Shop at Chong Yuet Ming.

Every time I go to the mini Park N' Shop, I'm reminded that the store manager has something against me. I don't know what I ever did to him, but every time I shop there, he finds way to annoy me. He usually gets me at the cash register. Every time he takes up cashier duties when I'm ready to pay, he distracts himself with something else for at least a minute before he pays attention to me. In the past, he has picked up the phone to call his colleague in the storage room, put pricetags on untagged items, and even stepped away to rearrange some items on the shelf. Once, he even stepped away from the cash register as soon as I got there in order to help a customer. Why couldn't he let me pay first?

Today, there were 4 or 5 people in front of me at the cash register. He rung up the stuff they bought and bagged them relatively quickly, being a store manager, after all. But as soon as I got to the register (and I wasn't the last in line), he began to look at his arm. He looked at his arm for about 30 seconds as though he were inspecting it for flaws, ignoring my impatience and annoyance. Why stop then? Why not stop after letting me pay first?

Believe it or not, I've always been polite with this guy.

Him: "Would you like a bag?"
Me: "No thanks."
Him: "Would you like a receipt?"
Me: "Yes, please."
Me: "Thank you. Bye."

But today:

Him: "Would you like..."
Me: "No bag."
Him: "Would you like a..."
Me: "Give me a receipt."

I glared at him throughout the entire transaction. I grabbed the receipt from him with as much force as I could grab a receipt without tearing it. And no, I didn't thank him.

I guess I'm not afraid of acting like this at Park N' Shop. The stuff I buy is pre-packaged. Believe me, I'd NEVER piss off the people who work at the canteens, even though some of them aren't just rude to me, but they also stiff me. Those tattooed guys who work at the BBQ'd meat stall, I notice they give leaner, juicer, and less bony cuts of meat to pretty girls, but they always give the rejects to me. But hey, I'm not going to complain. But if I see them getting beaten up on the street, do you think I'm going to be a hero? Well, maybe I would. Maybe they'd give me better meat if I help them out..

Qing Ming

Yesterday was Qing Ming (written "Ching Ming" in Hong Kong), also known as the "Tomb Sweeping Festival". I got up early to meet my uncle in Sai Wan Ho, then we took a bus to Chai Wan to visit my maternal grandfather's grave. Believe me when I say that I will never do it again.

Throngs and throngs of people queued to get onto buses, packing them to an extent that I had only seen in Beijing. Yes, just like sardines. Traffic was horrible, and the buses wouldn't even stop at the regular stop near the cemetary, so we got off down the road and packed the sidewalks. When we got there, we had to wait for the two other families who lived farther away, one of which was 40 minutes late, the other 1 hour late. Then, we trekked up the hill, but not as far as I expected, to the high-rise residential tower for the ashes of the dead. Oh yes, it was a bloody bloody hot day, and the clouds of incense and smoke from the burning of paper money didn't help.


When you watch Western movies, you see cemetaries with individual grave plots and graves that have proper headstones, all surrounded by an expanse of green grass. In Hong Kong movies, the graves you see are hillside plots that face the ocean. No one I know is buried at such graves. I've seen ocean-facing hillside graves with individual grave plots, and I've seen many around, but I've never had a chance to visit them.

It seems that most Hong Kong people are cremated, and their ashes are interred in stacked 1 foot by 1 foot shelves in multistory buildings. These shelves are covered by marble plates on which there is a photograph of the deceased, as well as some engraved writing that normally indicates name, place of birth, ancestral home, and years of birth and death.


As for Qing Ming, it's a pretty interesting festival with pretty interesting customs. Families would bring food - but not for consumption - for sacrifice. They have to bring incense, paper money, and rice wine. First, the family would place the food they brought at the foot of their ancestor's grace. Then, they'd burn incense sticks and bow towards the grave of their deceased relative. From what I've learned from Hong Kong movies, their spirits get to eat this food for as long as the incense burns. After that, the family goes to a separate spot where there is usually a big cauldron or some sort of large vessel in which there is already a big fire. There, they would burn fake money; in Hong Kong, such money is bilingual. I never paid attention to what it says in Chinese, but in English, it's called "Hell Money". They're usually in large denominations, and often have 6 to 8 zeroes, but yet people still burn stacks and stacks and stacks of it. Trying to buy love, I suppose? In recent years, it's become popular to burn not just money, but also paper models of sports cars, paper tuxedos, paper cell phones.. anything. Oh, some unintended consequences of Qing Ming that are nonetheless characteristic of Hong Kong's Qing Ming celebrations are 1. hillside fires caused by the burning of incense and offerings and 2. elderly people who require paramedics and hospitalization because they are either exhausted from climbing these hills or perhaps due to smoke inhalation.

EDIT: I forgot to mention 'tomb-sweeping'. Sweeping tombs seems to have gotten much easier in recent decades. In the past, graves were a grand affair, and sweeping the area around graves was probably a big hassle. These days, people bring a rag and a bottle of water and simply wipe the marble plate that covers the urn. It took my uncle less than 1 minute!


If I ever become a high-ranking government official, I'm going to recommend two things: 1. I would push for the extension of Qing Ming to a two day festival, in which people with surnames that start with the letters A-M celebrate on the first day and people with surnames that start with N-Z celebrate the second day. 2. rather than burn that much paper money (and some people burn A LOT), I would encourage the printing of even larger denominations (e.g. 1 trillion gazillion Hell Dollars) and would let people burn one note each. If a billion Chinese people around the world each burns an inch-thick stack of paper, how many trees need to be cut down? On the other hand, if there are more and more Chinese youth like me who refuse to celebrate festivals like Qing Ming...