08.12.08
Posted in Olympics at 20:49 by Mul
I guess it was all a bit too perfect. Following the news that the Opening Ceremony footprint fireworks were faked, it is now being reported (also here and here) that the cute little pixie, Lin Miaoke, who sang Ode to the Motherland at the Opening Ceremony was lip-syncing. And it wasn’t as though Lin was lip-syncing her own performance. No, that would at least be defensible. Apparently the girl who actually sang the song, Yang Peiyi, was judged to be too much of an ugly duckling to represent China at the opening ceremony. Chubby with crooked teeth. The horror. Can you believe a first-grader has crooked teeth? What? She doesn’t have a perfect figure? I am aghast.
Judged by whom, you ask? A member of the politburo. Absolute madness.
Faking the footprints – fine. No harm, no foul. If you ask me, they still looked really cool. You can even make the argument that it was safer to fake them rather than release fireworks in every neighborhood directly south of the Bird’s Nest.
What’s the argument here? According to one idiot, the musical director of the ceremony, it was done “in the national interest” and “considering the overseas image” of China. Please, tell me, someone, what is the national interest in this boneheaded move? Also, it really burns me that they’re trying to pin this one on foreigners, even indirectly.
What about the singer that “won the heart of a nation“? Shortly after the ceremony, Lin Miaoke’s father Lin Hui had said “it is too early for Miaoke to be part of the world of entertainment.”
I have a feeling we don’t have to worry about that now.
UPDATE: The New York Times has picked up the story.
UPDATE #2: Even Dlisted is covering the story.
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07.15.08
Posted in Hong Kong and Macau, Money/Banks, Olympics at 21:50 by Mul
Actually the opposite of chaos. Peaceful and orderly lines started forming late Monday night at the Bank of China Tower (full of mostly senior citizens by my count) eager to purchase either the Brilliant Jubliation or United Pleasure set. Or perhaps one of each.
Although the HKD20 commemorative bank notes were originally scheduled for release on Wednesday, the bank started early registration on Tuesday for “purchase passes” allowing holders to return on Wednesday (or later) to purchase the notes. There were at least two separate lines at the main branch on Garden Road, one of them (pictured above) extending from the front of the building all the way to Pacific Place several blocks away. I don’t have Park Service-quality crowd estimation skills, but I would guess there were at least a few thousand people in line.
Here’s another photo in the back of the building:
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07.13.08
Posted in Olympics at 17:36 by Mul
I have been at the edge of my seating waiting for this announcement. BOCOG (which, I am certain I am not first to suggest sounds like a Bond villain organization plotting world domination) has announced the official hairstyles and make-up of the Olympic medal presenters. The hairstyles and make-up are intended to be “compatible with the concept of sports, while still reflecting the spirit of Chinese youth.” Please, someone, explain what that means. For hairstyles to be compatible with sports, do they need to be aerodynamic? Wouldn’t a shaved head be more appropriate? I guess the hairstyle with the Olympic ring headband seems compatible enough. To me, the only hairstyle compatible with sports and the Olympics is this one. Or maybe this one. One last one.
Mul NOTES: Sure enough, Google informs that The New York Times has made a similar crack about BOCOG. Great minds and all that.
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Posted in Hong Kong and Macau, Money/Banks, Olympics at 17:14 by Mul
Hong Kong (via the Bank of China HK) announced its own commemorative Olympic currency on Friday. Beginning next Wednesday, branches of the Bank of China in Hong Kong will be selling four million (just over three million available to the public) commemorative Olympic-themed HKD20 bank notes. Later, the notes will be sold at the HK Olympic equestrian venue. As with the mainland bank notes, the Hong Kong notes feature the bird’s nest stadium and the Beijing Olympic logo. The notes will be sold at a significant mark-up, meaning we will never, ever see these in circulation. There are five different packages of single note or sheets available with super impressive sounding names and auspicious price points:
- Radiant Joy (Single HKD Note) at HKD138 per set (that is a nearly seven time mark-up!);
- Triumphant Spirit (4-in-1 Uncut HKD Notes) at HKD338 per set;
- Brilliant Jubilation (35-in-1 Uncut HKD Notes) at HKD1,388 per set;
- Harmonious Union (a package of one HKD Note and one MOP Note) at HKD268 per set; and
- United Pleasure (a package of 4-in-1 Uncut HKD Notes and 4-in-1 Uncut MOP Notes) at HKD868 per set.
That last name needs to be reconsidered. I’m just sayin’. And just in case you had any funny ideas about choosing auspicious notes, there will be no selection of serial numbers allowed.
Mul NOTES: Curious what MOP stands for? ODB was. MOP = Macau Pataca, the legal tender of our neighbors in the Macau SAR.
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06.25.08
Posted in Wenchuan Earthquake at 22:58 by Mul
China Daily provides a mildly inspiring story about a “Hero Porker” that survived over a month (36 days!) in the rubble of its pig sty. The pig, recently bestowed with the last name / first name combination of Zhu Jianqiang (strong pig), survived by drinking rain water and eating charcoal.
NATOR ADDS: The answer to your question is an unqualified YES.
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Posted in Food, Hong Kong and Macau at 22:23 by Mul
Finally, some movement on the elusive Hong Kong Fatburger. A few weeks ago (yes, it took me a little while to get around to taking a photo) they put a wrap on the increasingly frayed construction barrier announcing that renovation was in progress and the shop would be “opening in this summer.” English grammar aside, I interpret this to mean they will open before the end of August. Judging by my recent walk-bys on Queen’s Road East, there hasn’t been a lot of movement on the renovation. Time is running out.
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05.28.08
Posted in Politics, Wenchuan Earthquake at 21:10 by Mul
Let’s face it. Sharon Stone is famous for one reason and one reason only: she flashed her vagina to the entire world in Basic Instinct. Does this qualify her to share her political views? In Hollywood, I guess the answer is a big fat Marv Albert-style “Yes!”.
At a red carpet event in Cannes, Stone weighed in on the karmic connection between the violent suppression of protests in Tibet and the recent earthquake. Stone’s vagina commented:
“I’m not happy about the way the Chinese are treating the Tibetans because I don’t think anyone should be unkind to anyone else,” Stone said Thursday during a Cannes Film Festival red-carpet interview with Hong Kong’s Cable Entertainment News. “And then this earthquake and all this stuff happened, and then I thought, is that karma? When you’re not nice that the bad things happen to you?”
Thanks for putting that together for us Sharon Stone. Please, for the sake of humanity, can you now turn your attention to global warming or solving the mysteries of cold fusion?
Of course, we get an immediate response from the usual gang of idiots who have announced plans to boycott Sharon Stone movies and remove advertisements featuring her in China. That hurts. I bet her movies do really well in China. At least the Chinese Foreign Ministry gives the dignified response: silence.
UPDATE: Christian Dior announces that they will no longer feature Sharon Stone in their advertisements . . . in China. Sharon Stone apologizes and offers to assist with earthquake relief work. And the Foreign Ministry can’t resist and has to comment. Full story here. The New York Times also nicely manages to compare Stone’s foot in mouth affecting her endorsements with the recent Edison Chen scandal in Hong Kong (naked pics lost him Pepsi and Disney) and Ronaldo in Brazil (trannie encounters lost him a mobile phone sponsorship).
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05.22.08
Posted in Internet and Media, The Second Tier, Wenchuan Earthquake at 21:29 by Mul
After publishing what Gawker aptly labeled “earthquake porn“, a small Chinese magazine called New Travel Weekly has been shut down. The magazine apparently published a spread of photos of bikini-clad models traipsing about amid the ruin and rubble of the earthquake. Very tasteful. The government, surprisingly, did not think it to be so tasteful – rather they labeled it an “extremely evil social influence” . After some “rectification” it is possible that the magazine may be re-opened.
With a new managing editor, editor and deputy editor, natch.
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05.20.08
Posted in Internet and Media, Wenchuan Earthquake at 22:13 by Mul
In an impressive show of solidarity, and taking their cue from mainland newspapers, many Chinese websites (and Chinese language foreign websites) are switching to black and white only homepages in remembrance of the earthquake victims. I think this is a nice tribute to the victims of the earthquake. Here’s a few screen captures from People’s Daily, Baidu, Google, Yahoo, QQ and even Ctrip joins in with a black and white logo.
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05.18.08
Posted in Food, Hong Kong and Macau, Rumors at 21:12 by Mul
I posted with excitement a few months ago (back in February) about stumbling across a soon-to-be opened Fatburger on Queen’s Road East, across from the Hopewell Centre. This is, or was, to be Fatburger’s first outpost in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Fatburger was originally announced back in November last year.
Here we are, it’s mid-May and … nothing. No change whatsoever. Timeout Hong Kong, which by the way just began publishing in Hong Kong this month, informs that there’s been a snag with government approvals. When will the Fatburger open? No one knows.
SHTig Adds: Wikipedia says the Fatburger is still “upcoming” for Hong Kong. But personally I’m more interested in Wikipedia’s mentions that there is already a Fatburger in the Venetian Macau. Ever been to the Venetian? I don’t know if it’s exactly like the one in Vegas or not, but either way it’s tacky despite its grandeur. A Fatburger there fits in perfectly. Win a bunch of money, celebrate at the Fatburger. Lose your shirt, and hopefully you still have enough dough for a Fatburger.
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