When I started this blog I wasn't sure what I was doing. My main thought (or was it? so long ago now) was that here I was reading X, Y, and Zs blog and it seemed unfair not to share in return. And maybe I could connect more with the bloggers I had been reading. And in the beginning, when I was more consistent, it did serve that purpose. But I think it just really isn't me judging by my inconsistency in posting once the "honeymoon" ended. Actually I am not even reading as many blogs or reading them as intently as I used to, commenting even less often. It could just be another phase in my life.
So this is in part an apology for those of you who have supported me by stopping by, reading and/or making comments. I do appreciate it. And I guess it is also an acknowledgment of what you probably have figure out, that I am not the best of bloggers. That being said I still will probably post here and there but I am letting go of that little bit of guilt I would feel every time I realized how long it has been since I last blogged.
LOL to sum up, this blog update is to update you on how little I update this blog. (Sorry I couldn't resist)
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Cheung Chau--part 2
Just off the boat, we started exploring the shops. My friends did a lot of shopping mainly for food items that they wanted to bring back to the US with them but we also took pictures of the items for sale.
More to come at a later date ... the pictures take forever and a day to load so I am only doing a few at a time.
More to come at a later date ... the pictures take forever and a day to load so I am only doing a few at a time.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Snow day reading
I know everyone is waiting breathlessly for the continuation of my latest Hong Kong chronicle and I promise I will get back to it. I have been in a bit of a winter funk, which is not that unusual for me really. This winter has been unusually snowy and I have become a bit of a hermit. I used to be a non-stop reader but at some point I became a non-stop movie watcher. Now, I am, well, either I am switching back to being more of a reader or maybe I am just finding a better balance in my life. Time will tell.
My latest book is "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" which I have been sneaking peeks at over the shoulders of my fellow subway riders for what seems like the longest time now, so I decided to give it a go. And I have to say, I am a bit underwhelmed. Am I missing something? I realize it is a translation of the original. Some of the stuff just was too tedious for me, if I hadn't read a review that warned me about how the book started with that detailed analysis of financial misdeeds I probably wouldn't have lasted long. And the long passages detailing every step of a murder investigation which only served to make me sympathize with the characters needing to alternate between acquavit and coffee.
I did like the character Lisabeth, I found her refreshingly different, she is a highly functional dysfunctional woman. Meanwhile the character of Mikael was too "perfect": smart, high morals and every woman wants to sleep with him. That kind of character is not so refreshing to me, sort of every man's dream of himself. Reeks of James Bond but without the sense of humor.
I am no literary critic and wouldn't even bring this up here except I feel like I missed something here, why is this series so popular? Can anyone explain that to me? It seems like everyone has read or is reading this trilogy and I am just not sure if I want to continue it. I do want to know what happens to Lisabeth, and how she got to be so dysfunctional but I might just skip the books and watch the movies--after all how many more snow days can I possibly have this winter? (Don't answer that question!)
My latest book is "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" which I have been sneaking peeks at over the shoulders of my fellow subway riders for what seems like the longest time now, so I decided to give it a go. And I have to say, I am a bit underwhelmed. Am I missing something? I realize it is a translation of the original. Some of the stuff just was too tedious for me, if I hadn't read a review that warned me about how the book started with that detailed analysis of financial misdeeds I probably wouldn't have lasted long. And the long passages detailing every step of a murder investigation which only served to make me sympathize with the characters needing to alternate between acquavit and coffee.
I did like the character Lisabeth, I found her refreshingly different, she is a highly functional dysfunctional woman. Meanwhile the character of Mikael was too "perfect": smart, high morals and every woman wants to sleep with him. That kind of character is not so refreshing to me, sort of every man's dream of himself. Reeks of James Bond but without the sense of humor.
I am no literary critic and wouldn't even bring this up here except I feel like I missed something here, why is this series so popular? Can anyone explain that to me? It seems like everyone has read or is reading this trilogy and I am just not sure if I want to continue it. I do want to know what happens to Lisabeth, and how she got to be so dysfunctional but I might just skip the books and watch the movies--after all how many more snow days can I possibly have this winter? (Don't answer that question!)
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Cheung Chau--part 1
This had to be my favorite place to visit this trip. And we chose a lovely day to go too.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
House of Dancing Water
Somehow a friend of a friend of probably another friend was able to get us reasonably priced tickets to see "House of Dancing Water" in Macau. It was a bit nerve wracking to fit into our schedule being that the show was at 5 and Andy Lau's concerts start at 8:30 but it was well worth it. We wouldn't have been late at all if we had had an easier time catching a taxi upon our return to Hong Kong, as it was we only missed the first 2 or 3 songs.
The show is accessible to anyone I think, the cast is a mix of most if not all cultural backgrounds and although there is a plot to the show, there are no actual words spoken. It has ballerinas, an evil step-mother, a handsome prince, a damsel in distress who just happens to be a beautiful princess ... but really, forget the plot, doesn't really matter. And forget the water, which moves very fast in every direction, one minute it is barely more than a puddle, next it is deep enough for the cast to dive into from great heights and then before you can blink twice there is no water at all it and at times it is one massive, gorgeously lit water fountain--because at least for me, it was the artistry of the physicality of everyone in the show that is the real star of the show. It was a great demonstration of strength, agility and flexibility of both men and women. And clearly no one was afraid of heights, because there were quite a few entrances from the rafters, high diving and even motorcycle stunts, which seemed out of place and then again, not somehow. Anyway, I enjoyed the show immensely.
Unfortunately for an amateur photographer for me this was a nightmare in terms of trying to get a decent picture but I did try ...
The show is accessible to anyone I think, the cast is a mix of most if not all cultural backgrounds and although there is a plot to the show, there are no actual words spoken. It has ballerinas, an evil step-mother, a handsome prince, a damsel in distress who just happens to be a beautiful princess ... but really, forget the plot, doesn't really matter. And forget the water, which moves very fast in every direction, one minute it is barely more than a puddle, next it is deep enough for the cast to dive into from great heights and then before you can blink twice there is no water at all it and at times it is one massive, gorgeously lit water fountain--because at least for me, it was the artistry of the physicality of everyone in the show that is the real star of the show. It was a great demonstration of strength, agility and flexibility of both men and women. And clearly no one was afraid of heights, because there were quite a few entrances from the rafters, high diving and even motorcycle stunts, which seemed out of place and then again, not somehow. Anyway, I enjoyed the show immensely.
Unfortunately for an amateur photographer for me this was a nightmare in terms of trying to get a decent picture but I did try ...
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Shopping
Sorry for the delay. Really had major jet lag on both ends of my trip. But it has been shorter on this end, thankfully, still it has taken more than a week. And this is just a short entry, I just wanted to start. I am going to post my pix chronologically because that is how my pix are loaded onto my computer. Some days I took almost no pix (except for concert photos) and some I took quite a few.
I don't shop, not here, not anywhere. But it seems that when in Hong Kong, one shops, even if you aren't the one buying anything.
Apparently there is an art to buying towels, its all in the fingers
Despite being fascinated by these wax apples, I never got around to tasting them
I don't shop, not here, not anywhere. But it seems that when in Hong Kong, one shops, even if you aren't the one buying anything.
Apparently there is an art to buying towels, its all in the fingers
Despite being fascinated by these wax apples, I never got around to tasting them
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Happy belated New Year!
I got back from Hong Kong late evening on Tuesday. I felt as if I had only gotten over my jet lag for a few days and then it was time to head back. I had a wonderful time. Yes, I had a lot of fun at the Andy Lau concerts, no question, but it was also fun during the day.
The concert was different than I expected, no mini-dramas this time which at first threw me but then I realized it was meant to be a journey through Andy's life in song. Having tickets to quite a few shows, one of the highlights for me were the guests. I am not just an Andy Lau fan, I am a fan of Hong Kong entertainment so I knew almost all of the guests. In 2007 when I came for those concerts, Andy had almost no guests so this made it an altogether different experience for me. My favorite guests were Anthony Wong, Sandra Ng, Sammi Cheng and George Lam. Oh, oh, yes, let's not forget the Wynners! I thought the Twins sang terribly and Leon Lai looked downright scared.
Most of the guests sang "Ming Sing" which was a great way to compare singing styles, the only ones that didn't were the Twins. Leon Lai sang it as a duet with Andy then sang one of Andy's songs as a solo. And Deannie Yip was a regular guest, I was a fan of hers before I even discovered Andy and their "mother-son" relationship. She also came out one night to sing "Ming Sing."
By day I was out and about. I didn't adhere to my plan of wandering around because I was with more people this trip. My one friend, who is a former Hong Konger who now lives in NYC, asked me before my trip where I wanted to go, that she would take me there. Not my first trip, I thought, I don't need a tour guide. But I told her a few places I wanted to go and she got the picture, I had done the tourist sites. We went to 2 of the 3 places I requested together. She was also with her father and two aunts and they are in great shape, we did a lot of walking and standing, no complaints at all and sometimes they'd go off on their own to do more things.
I was with this friend and her family most of my days and it was great for me. I certainly got a better idea of how locals get around, eat and shop in Hong Kong. I ate dim sum regularly as well as congee but I also had a variety of meals such as hotpot (pix coming soon), rice in the clay pot (which I have had in NYC but never got around to in HK) and bird's nest for dessert. I even tasted pig's blood. With other friends I went to Sai Kung for a seafood dinner, al fresco. One friend had brought her dog so we had to eat outside, which was too cold for me and a couple of others but we managed. There I finally got to try abalone.
As for shopping, we did a ton of it. Children's clothing, books, jeans, underwear ginger and all sorts of fish in Cheung Chau. We shopped at Ladies Market but also Bowring Street and Sham Shui Po.
I haven't offloaded my pix from my netbook yet. Mostly they are of the concerts but I have plenty others that folks here would be more interested in. I don't have a USB with enough space on it here at home, the ones with the most capacity are at work.
The concert was different than I expected, no mini-dramas this time which at first threw me but then I realized it was meant to be a journey through Andy's life in song. Having tickets to quite a few shows, one of the highlights for me were the guests. I am not just an Andy Lau fan, I am a fan of Hong Kong entertainment so I knew almost all of the guests. In 2007 when I came for those concerts, Andy had almost no guests so this made it an altogether different experience for me. My favorite guests were Anthony Wong, Sandra Ng, Sammi Cheng and George Lam. Oh, oh, yes, let's not forget the Wynners! I thought the Twins sang terribly and Leon Lai looked downright scared.
Most of the guests sang "Ming Sing" which was a great way to compare singing styles, the only ones that didn't were the Twins. Leon Lai sang it as a duet with Andy then sang one of Andy's songs as a solo. And Deannie Yip was a regular guest, I was a fan of hers before I even discovered Andy and their "mother-son" relationship. She also came out one night to sing "Ming Sing."
By day I was out and about. I didn't adhere to my plan of wandering around because I was with more people this trip. My one friend, who is a former Hong Konger who now lives in NYC, asked me before my trip where I wanted to go, that she would take me there. Not my first trip, I thought, I don't need a tour guide. But I told her a few places I wanted to go and she got the picture, I had done the tourist sites. We went to 2 of the 3 places I requested together. She was also with her father and two aunts and they are in great shape, we did a lot of walking and standing, no complaints at all and sometimes they'd go off on their own to do more things.
I was with this friend and her family most of my days and it was great for me. I certainly got a better idea of how locals get around, eat and shop in Hong Kong. I ate dim sum regularly as well as congee but I also had a variety of meals such as hotpot (pix coming soon), rice in the clay pot (which I have had in NYC but never got around to in HK) and bird's nest for dessert. I even tasted pig's blood. With other friends I went to Sai Kung for a seafood dinner, al fresco. One friend had brought her dog so we had to eat outside, which was too cold for me and a couple of others but we managed. There I finally got to try abalone.
As for shopping, we did a ton of it. Children's clothing, books, jeans, underwear ginger and all sorts of fish in Cheung Chau. We shopped at Ladies Market but also Bowring Street and Sham Shui Po.
I haven't offloaded my pix from my netbook yet. Mostly they are of the concerts but I have plenty others that folks here would be more interested in. I don't have a USB with enough space on it here at home, the ones with the most capacity are at work.
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