The one thing about these insanely long trips is that it takes your brain several days to catch up to your body; though adjusting sleep cycles, even for a 12-hour time shift, can be done in a few days, it takes somewhat longer for that jet-lag haze to clear itself from one’s brain…
July 2004 Archives
The Seven Deadly Sins, as illustrated by Hongkong Land:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Click on the small versions to see a very large version of each image.
These posters are used to advertise the on-going renovation of part of the Landmark, a large, popular shopping mall/office complex in downtown Hong Kong. Presumably the renovations will be so luxurious that it’ll inspire each of the sins. The illustrations are clever and subtle: “Gluttony” is transparently metaphorical, while the gender reversal for “Vanity” is both amusing and apt, given the number of dandies that populate Hong Kong’s social scene. I do admit that “Sloth” is a bit too subtle: in other words, I don’t get it. Perhaps our hero is left only with the shadow of a kiss on his cheek because he’s too lazy to pursue the heroine?
The last deadly sin, the one that they left out, is greed. Why’d they leave it out? Well, they probably figured that it was, for Hong Kong, redundant…
Got back yesterday afternoon; 16 hours in a plane is more than long enough. Will be sleeping for the next week.
Well, I guess I survived that really nasty upper respiratory infection with minimal complications. Missing a week at work wasn’t fun, though; neither was the persistant light-headedness and general fatigue. The flip side is that I lost 10 pounds in four days, so win some, lose some.
This is leading up to saying that my departure from Honkers has snuck up on me with surprising speed, so it’s time to say so long, Hong Kong. And I’ll be saying that Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. at Delaney’s in Wanchai, so if you want to join me in raising a glass to this city, drop on by…
Am laid up with a nasty little cold that just isn’t going away (the way it’s supposed to). Communication will be sporadic until I recover (recovery=feeling well enough to leave the apartment).
Don’t forget to go down to Siberia tonight for the First Annual PF Memorial Blogger Bash. I’m afraid, as the guest of honor, that I won’t be able to make it…
This is the first thing I ever wrote on this blog. Back then the design was significantly different and everything was hand-written HTML. Times sure have changed in three years.
Some highlights from over the years:
- LA
- 911
- The last time I was in Paris
- A clueless commenter
- Experimenting with formatting
- The birth of the Noted Relationship Expert
- 100 Things (not entirely accurate anymore)
- A guest blogger (first and last, I think)
- The first (and last) time I was interviewed about blogging—Gawker launched the next month and changed the blog world like a ship-sized asteroid hitting the Yutacan peninsula
- Drunk blogging
- The first blind item
- Experimenting with vocabulary
- I auction off lunch with me
- WORST.POEM.EVER.
- Wherein I ponder the odd intersection of classical Marxism, the open-source movement, and blogging
- The Night The Lights Went Out
- Opera For Beginners
- Valentine’s Day Dinner
- On Classic Cocktails
- Deep Thoughts about blogging
This dude is golfing his way across Mongolia. Cool.
And who can resist an insane adventurer who writes things like “With the abundance of mutton in [Mongolian] cuisine, every traveler must learn not to be sheepish about sampling the local food”?
Cancer: If you’re still wondering why others have been so impossible over the past few days, it’s worth looking heavenward into that mirror you have mounted on the ceiling. Between last Friday’s full moon, the current tricky planetary activity, and the fact that you’ve been a real asshole, nobody’s in a particularly co-operative mood. It’s best to sit back, be patient, and buy some flowers for the receptionist to ward off that lawsuit.
Leo: You may have tried to steer clear of recent clashes, you passive-aggressive piece of shit, but there is probably no way out. In the long run, it’s better to be involved. At least if you’re in on the discussions, you can prevent people making decisions they’d later regret. Plus, it’ll be a nice change to take credit for something you were actually involved in.
Virgo: The time has come for you to delve into complex issues. As a Virgo, you usually tackle things the minute they arrive, because your organizational skills are like those of a marmot hopped up on crystal meth. These issues have created problems you’ve been at a loss to solve, so maybe you should learn how to use that Palm Pilot your parents bought you. It’s vital that you don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment, though let’s face it—when have you ever not let your emotions cloud your judgment? Get thee to some lithium. Or something, you bipolar freak.
Libra: By the time the week is over, you’ll have made some important decisions about essential elements in your life. While these may not seem urgent now, by midweek, you will need to make a stand: boxers or briefs?
Scorpio: As a Scorpio, the last thing you’d ever think of is arguing when you’re unsure of your facts; this is because you have no fucking imagination and can’t think for yourself. But some others are not concerned with such details. On the contrary, they seem to be happy to wade in shamelessly with fatuous opinions and few ideas. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you’re right for a change.
Sagittarius: Unexpected demands have landed in your lap. Between now and the week’s close you will need to deal with them. Review exactly what your obligations are then put specific plans into place. That means sell the third-world orphans on eBay before Child Services figures out where they are.
Capricorn: Knowing how you feel about certain matters is one thing, getting the point across to others is something else again. It is your fault that showing up at that supermodel’s house in the middle of the night—even after the restraining order—was taken the wrong way? Well, actually, yes. Because you haven’t paved the way in previous exchanges, you’ll probably have a lot of explaining to do this week to the judge. Creep.
Aquarius: This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius! For ages you’ve been concerned about issues with people very close to you. But either they’ve been distracted by obligations or they’ve been in no mood to talk. Being in a coma will do that to you. Now, as the communication planet Mercury moves into the partnership angle of your chart, those obstacles of discussion will vanish. Be prepared for a verbal butt-reaming when your sister wakes up and finds out that you torched her house for the insurance money.
Pisces: Even the most down-to-earth of Pisceans are still idealists at heart. For this reason, you’re likely to take certain reversals personally, particularly because they involve plans you worked hard to create. While disappointing, you’ll soon realize that you can still go to the prom by yourself.
Aries: Certain people seem to be unable to stop focusing on problems. You view their concerns as nothing but their imaginations working overtime. That’s because you’ve a fucking oblivious moron. Your head’s so far up your ass it’s coming back out the other side. By Thursday’s encounter between the sun and Saturn, however, you’ll not only discover that they were right, you’ll have to do something about the fact that they successfully blamed you for those problems and got you fired. Maybe you were the problem.
Taurus: You’re probably still trying to figure out what was behind recent emotional exchanges. It’s worth keeping in mind that, whatever the actual issues in question might have been, the unsettling influence of last Friday’s full moon would have resulted in everybody being easily provoked. Plus the fact that your PMS turned you into a stroppy cow from hell.
Gemini: Nobody’s better at addressing the tough issues than a Gemini. That’s because you’re of two minds about everything. Yet even you’ve been defeated by the refusal of one individual to discuss sensitive problems. You could try again, but that wouldn’t work because you’re a fucking insensitive clod. You’re probably better off waiting until this weekend’s encounter between that redheaded bartender you’ve been flirting with and the volatile bitch you call a girlfriend does the job for you. Ladbrookes has 3:2 on the girlfriend, by the way.
Horoscope based on today’s newspaper horoscopes by Shelley von Strunckel, who has a faintly embarrassing Y2K problem on her main page: it seems to think that today is July 5, 104.
For the Hong Kongers: How does Saturday, July 17, 8 p.m., Delaney’s Wanchai sound?
For the New Yorkers: Click This Button 
So how was your Fourth of July?
Whilst watching the first set of the woman’s Wimbledon final:
My uncle: That girl’s going to be a multi-millionaire by the time she’s twenty.
Me: *snort* That girl’s going to be a multi-millionaire by the end of next week.
More than half a million protestors marched yesterday in the heat and humidity and pollution. And people say that Hong Kongers aren’t political.
From the Times: Huge Rally in Hong Kong Calls for Democratic Elections. The key graf:
But on Thursday, Mr. Tung [Hong Kong’s Chief Executive] was barely mentioned as protesters showed a new boldness in denouncing mainland China for banning general elections here and, in their view, trying to intimidate democrats.
In something of a minor miracle for press freedom, the official Chinese press didn’t completely ignore the march; however, their coverage was perhaps less than comprehensive:
Demonstrators gathered at the Victoria Park on Hong Kong Island at 2:30 p.m. to hold a protest. They marched into the streets and caused traffic jams.
Well, I suppose we can be thankful that they at least mentioned the march…
It should be noted that the PLA garrisons were opened to the public for the holiday; does this mean a change in policy? (probably not, but it’s interesting nonetheless)
More followups: frequent commentor Tom has some great pictures of the march, as does this guy; more first-hand reports from here; here & here; here; and here.
A question for all the non-Asia readers out there: how much play did this story get in your local news (other than the Times, of course)?
And in unrelated news, it’s come to my attention that I have about three weeks left in Hongkers. Perhaps it’s time for a HK blogger get-together before I head back, eh? Who’s in?
94 degrees Farenheit and 68% humidity.
Oh, and there are over 300,000 protestors marching out there in the heat today. Today’s a public holiday, and I’d join them, save for the fact that I’m at the office working right now…