The world folded in on itself

Yes, that’s what it felt like earlier this week when I caught the last episode of the current season of Curb Your Enthusiasm; Larry David’s hilarious comedy on HBO.

For all of you whom I don’t wish to know who do not know who Larry David is; he only just created Seinfeld along with Jerry Seinfeld all those years ago.

Anyway he plays himself in CYE and in the current season he gets back the old cast for a Seinfeld reunion culminating in last night’s episode.  So my reality twisted and my perception of what was real warped as I watched Larry play himself, Larry play George for a minute whose character is based on Larry, Jerry playing himself playing himself etc etc.

It was sublime. I loved it. It had quotables, it had Seinfeldisms and it had Larry Davidisms

…on the other hand…..

….Mocha Joe!………….

…….do you respect wood?…………..

…….acting without acting……………….

……Madoff!…………………

from https://bonkersinhonkers.wordpress.com

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Facebook Group incites suicides!

Read all about it!!

There is a free newspaper handed out in the morning by thousands of cheery, friendly locals all around Honkers; it’s called The Standard. Some local blogs call it The Sub-Standard. I agree with them. especially after today.

The article screamed out at us from its lofty black box on the top right of the front page: “Schools on Facebook Mass Suicide Alert”
It’s the sort of shlocky, shocky, amateur journalism that gets parents and talking heads all in to tizzy. Mostly because it involves…..THE INTERNET!
Throwing in words like cyber cops and phrases like “the fear is that the sinister cyber tentacles from the site have already clamped on Hong Kong youngsters.” are sure to get us all up on our feet to crush this cyber threat immediately!

“The group has been blamed for the attempted suicide earlier this month of a secondary schoolgirl in Hong Kong”
So basically the article is saying that normal, happy Hong Kong youngsters are seeing this Facebook group and immediately are switched on to the option of killing themselves. Right, I see. Nothing going on at home behind closed doors, hmm? Nothing going on in the school playground, corridors or classrooms, hmm? Nothing going on with peer pressure, drug or alcohol abuse, hmm? It’s Facebook that will make them jump off a roof is it, hmm?

“internet evils”  –  Nice, I’m going to use this to describe every website from now on.

I’ll leave the last words to Mr. Teddy Tang Chun- keung who stated that
“..a study carried out in September and October found that students in Yuen Long are generally not suicidal”
Ok Teddy, ok. And I’m generally not sleepy very early in the morning when I read this crap.

In fact, I’m sure if I did a “study” on how suicidal mini bus drivers are in Hong Kong I am sure I would find they are all a life-loving, tobacco -smoking joy parade. Having been in a mini bus this evening careening through the streets of Honkers I may also beg to differ.

from https://bonkersinhonkers.wordpress.com

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Music is arriving, finally!

One aspect I miss of living in Europe and Germany in particular is going to gigs (concerts to the non-hip). I saw so many gigs in Germany and Europe in general over the last four years. It was fantastic and usually in smaller venues than usual. From the top of my head I’m going to try and remember all of them; Dave Matthews (twice), Stereophonics, Aimee Mann, Green Day, Snow Patrol, The Corrs (sssh, they are from my home town), Iron and Wine, Calexico, Peeping Tom, Mike Patton and Rahzel, Therapy?,  Pearl Jam, Sufjan Stevens, Oasis and most recently in Frankfurt my favourite band of all time; Faith No More. I had tickets to see Death Cab For Cutie but I couldn’t make it. Darn it.

Unfortunately here in Hong Kong not a lot of bands drop by. I miss going to see big names and not so big named bands. I’ve always loved live music more than recorded sessions. In fact after listening to some versions of songs live I can’t go back to the album version.

So joy of joys there are two gigs I will pay overpriced tickets for this coming January; Green Day and The Killers both playing at the AsiaWorld Expo – Arena on Lantau Island.

I have seen Green Day two times already and I’m always impressed so I’m looking forward to that one. Their latest album has some belters but overall it’s an o.k. album from them by their standards. The Killers I have just started listening to, I never really “got” them before but listening now to their discography I am digging it. Ya hear?!

from https://bonkersinhonkers.wordpress.com

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Almost feels like home…

Last week Honkers got cold.

I usually scoff at the locals wearing gloves, scarves and heavy coats as the weather gets a few degrees colder. But no, this time it was warranted. It was almost cold enough to go and buy a heater but then sense prevailed and we managed to survive. We dusted off our hoodies every morning and headed off to work; it certainly was a change to hunch the shoulders against the chilly air.

This week it has got milder and is almost perfect. Walking along in a work shirt is just a joy. I think it may stay like this for the week going by the useful Honkers Observatory website.

So we hope the mildness will last and the humidity and heat will stay away until the new year. And world peace.

I still can’t organise our Christmas holidays and I don’t know if it’s laziness, lack of determination or willpower. Or all of them. I was looking in to Tokyo but the package deals either stop at Christmas or the flights are full. Choosing flights and hotels separately works o.k.  but then I need to weigh up the dozens of different websites I can use to formulate this plan. Blurbity blurbity blurbity. I can’t even write about it without crossing my eyes.

from https://bonkersinhonkers.wordpress.com

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Let’s get historical

I love learning about the history of Hong Kong and how things have changed throughout the years.

One blog that sates my quest for this knowledge is Gwulo: Old Hong Kong which hunts down and investigates the Hong Kong of olde.

So imagine my surprise when a recent post highlighted the corner of three streets that our very apartment looks down on. The building on the corner has always reminded me of the Flatiron Building in New York (obviously to a lesser extent). As Gwulo and his readers mention all the buildings surrounding are around 50 years old with the particular flatiron-esque building just been refurbished very recently hence it’s current facade. I can tell from peering through the windows with powerful binoculars that most of the units within are apartments.

As I posted a comment on their blog saying I would post a few pictures from a different viewpoint I thought I would do so here to kill two birds.

One at night with ubiquitous gweilo teenagers fooling around on the terrace of Lee Gardens Two.

And two in the cold light of day. Even the roof looks refurbished!
I should really polish of my cobwebbed Nikon D70 and take some more composed photos. Excuses, excuses I know.

from https://bonkersinhonkers.wordpress.com

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