Saturday, Nov 14, 2009 12:29PM /
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Earlier this week (read: I can't remember which day), I met up with AnD artist Mimi Leung to catch up on what's new and to help her with some heavy-lifting type stuff.
It's the Polish national pastime, and considering I weighed a multiple of the stuff, it was hardly work.
Mimi's artwork hypnotizes me. Something about it compels me to look at it.
She's pretty good to look at too. I could do a lot worse for companionship, especially in public. The assumptions of bypassers were certainly inaccurate, but obliquely flattering nonetheless.
We had lunch in LCX (that's where the stuff was), and then went to Central to drop it off.
We even took the ferry like any (assumed) couple should.
We had coffee and talked about all and sundry. Mimi and I share an interest in music that might be called obsessive, but we like to think of it simply as enthusiasm. It also simplifies things: music either sucks or is life-affirming.
We are also the same way about movies. Naturally, we headed to HMV, because, well, we like movies. She asked me about which movies she ought to watch and/or own, and I prattled on for much too long.
In the end, she did buy Raging Bull, which, reflexive iconoclast that I am, I can concede is indeed, as its blurb claims, one of the best films ever made.
Mimi left for home, which I also probably should have done.
Since we're not really a couple I didn't have to accompany her home.
But I am so rarely in Central, and so far from Tai Wai, that I figured I ought to stay there. Especially since it was getting on to rush hour, when returning home would be not so much commuting as penitence.
I'm glad I stayed.
As I walked around, I noticed someone who looked a lot like 24 Herbs' Phat.
It was him.
We talked about his tattoo book, my new tattoo, and of course the upcoming LMF shows.
I am fannishly happy to know that I can go see LMF live in Hong Kong.
It turned out that he was waiting for the rest of LMF to arrive, as they had an appearance to do at Watermark. Slowly but surely, the rest of them did arrive.
I found myself surrounded by LMF.
It was one of those "Is this really my life?" moments. Even though I can't understand 99% of their lyrics, I still love their music, and I enjoy the fact that they rankle so many people.
So for me to stand there talking to them, and having met most of them before anyway such that they recognized me, was almost surreal.
Being able to say "I know LMF" is strange, but in a good way. That they know me is even stranger.
It's one of those moments I use to remind myself how great my life actually is.
For (Western) New Year, make sure you get rid of your hangover by the 2nd of January. When LMF takes the stage that night in Kowloon Bay, you're going to want to remember every second of it.
Alivenotdead started as a networking site for like-minded people in Hong Kong. I've admitted before that I joined because I needed to find like-minded people (well, those not already institutionalized, anyway). I needed to find friends. I have. My life is better because of the people who run, contribute to, and visit this website.
Thank you.
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Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009 1:29AM /
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Apparently, at the National Zoo in Washington DC, a young female deer (a doe) made the terminal mistake of jumping into an enclosure with two female lions.
Darwinism ensues.
There is no graphic content in this video, just nature as God intended it to be.
I'd have paid money to watch that show.
The deer, although separated from the lions, was later euthanized because its injuries were too severe. Which is just as well. None of the other deer would ever believe her war story:
"No, I swear to Christ, I was attacked by two f@#$ing lions... I barely made it out with my @ss..."
"Eat sh*t, you probably got scratched by a fence."
"No, really..."
I like how the people are all cheering for the deer, hoping it escapes this cruel joke of fate.
F@#$ that.
I was cheering for the lions. It's probably the most fun they've had in their entire lives, though they were probably a little confused at first:
"This ain't no motherf@#$in' gazelle.. What the f@#$ is this???"
You can see it in their eyes as they watch the deer swimming:
"I wish a motherf@#$er would come out of that water onto some dry land... I'm 'a tear you a new @sshole, so help me God..."
The crowd was quickly dispersed as the zoo authorities sought to grapple with this weird yet totally natural issue. They isolated the lions before attempting a rescue of the deer.
As the lions were led back into their enclosures, they turned to the crowd and threw lion gang signs:
"Top of the food chain, biatch!!!"
Don't feel bad for the
deer. DC is overrun with them, and this deer was only going to end up
as an organic hood ornament on a Volvo anyway.
Sadly, I am sure the zookeepers didn't even have the common courtesy to let the lions eat the deer they killed. God forbid we encourage predators to act like... predators. You know, eating what they kill and all. I know from experience that venison is tasty, but the best venison comes from a deer you killed yourself.
I'm sure the lions had something to say about it at their next meal:
"F@#$ you and your hamburger. Bring me that little motherf@#$er I killed this afternoon. F&#$ that, just bring your narrow @ss a little bit closer. I dare you, motherf@#$er..."
Besides, what the hell else would they do with the deer carcass?
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Monday, Nov 9, 2009 7:26PM /
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A while ago (a couple weeks?) Yung Yung Yu asked me if I wanted to take part in the 48 Hour Film Project. I thought she wanted me to help with the music, and maybe be an extra or a one-line character.
Thomas Lo directed, and Stephanie Fodor produced and played a small role, as did Y3 and May Lee Koora. Simon Young was DP and Lara Ding helped out with costumes and general atmosphere maintenance.
I ended up being one of the two main characters along with Andrew Lang, who is a real, serious actor, and I think I even ended up with the preponderance of lines.
Now, I'll be the first to say that I can't act.
Well, I can act decent and civilized, because I get tired of jail. But I digress.
I spent the whole time filming nearly catatonic with fear that I would ruin the film.
I've seen enough EEG films (and that one William Hung film) to know that bad acting is pitiful, but not acting is execrable.
So when I found out that our film got Best Acting at the 48 Hour Film Project Awards, I nearly wet myself.
Now, I was lucky. I played a smart-@ss bartender who tries to help an acquaintance while still insulting him at odd intervals.
That's an easy role for me to play; it's my personality.
If I had to play the other role, things would be different.
But they weren't, so there I was.
Any and all credit for my winning an award goes to my team in general and Thomas Lo in particular, for managing to make me look like a 'real' actor. I felt very under-qualified to be there, as I was the least experienced person in the room (in terms of acting).
I am glad I could help my team, and I want to again say that this award is proof of how good they all are, because they carried me.
And I weigh a lot, literally and figuratively.
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Friday, Nov 6, 2009 4:25PM /
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How busy? Well, my internet connection got turned off because I forgot to pay the bill for about a month. Horrible. I had to read a book last night until they turned it back on. I almost lost my mind.
I'm so busy I never blogged about Mr. Big in Singapore.
So I better start there.
Sunday, Oct. 18
I left the hotel early, carrying the Less Paul. I walked to Fort Canning Park, which is a pretty dumb thing to do that close to the equator.
By the time I got where I needed to be, I was sweating like a prostitute on "2-for" Tuesday.
But as I was approaching the venue, I could hear Mr. Big soundchecking. It was really loud.
It was also f@#$ing great.
Say what you want about their hair or their acoustic ballad, but they were always a ferocious live band, and I knew right then that I had made the right choice in coming to see them. I could tell that the time and $ were worth it just from the soundcheck.
I actually watched them soundcheck, since there was no security there yet.
In fact, after soundcheck, Paul Gilbert walked by me on his way back to the dressing room. I didn't want to bother him, as I knew I'd get to meet him later.
I collected my VIP pass and then waited very unceremoniously outside. Apparently VIP don't get air-conditioning or water.
I met lots of the other VIPs, and in many ways, this was the best part of the experience. We were all standing around in the heat, most of us holding guitars to be signed. I felt better when locals said it was hot, because that obviously meant it was really hot.
The security guards, two Dutch or German guys (who were both smaller than me) took an inordinate interest in the Less Paul, and after I showed it to them it got everyone else's attention too.
I ended up posing for pictures with it. It was weird. I tried to get people to hold it, but no one wanted to. Strange...
But as I said, I met a lot of great people and we all talked about guitars to pass the time before the meet and greet.
Which, it turns out, was not really a meet and greet but more like a shoot and scoot.
The road manager informed the promoter, who informed us, that there would be no autographs, no meeting the band and chatting with them. You walked in, met them, took a photo, and got out.
I will say that the band were all very nice, and they seemed genuinely grateful at the fan support. I didn't mind that part, and I've worked in that setting enough to know that sometimes you just don't have it to give, so to speak.
But I'd spent SG$350 for what turned out to be something I could easily have done for free if I'd shown a little initiative at soundcheck. I'm sure there was some sort of excuse clause buried in the fine print, but it was still a rather suckful episode.
Especially when I realized that I didn't even ask Paul to hold the Less Paul in the picture! You can see me holding it:
Just like Christmas, I'm bigger than Big.
So no water, no a/c, no Paul Gilbert signature on the Less Paul.
Although the VIPs did have a nice elevated platform off to the side of the stage, right in front of Paul Gilbert.
The show itself was fantastic. No opening band, and a simple stage set. Loud, but not painful. The crowd was about 2,500 strong, which is a lot smaller than the Budokan, so in reality I ended up with a much better seat.
The other thing I liked about the crowd was how diverse it was. I saw quite a few Muslim women in the crowd, dressed like the Indonesian domestics here. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, and I was really glad.
Granted, I didn't see them singing along when Paul Gilbert broke into AC/DC's "Highway to Hell," but the rest of us were singing along.
The band played a lot of their old songs, some great covers, and during the encore rotated instruments: guitarist Paul Gilbert played drums, drummer Pat Torpey played bass, singer Eric Martin played guitar and bassist Billy Sheehan sang on a great cover of Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water."
Until the song's guitar solo. For that, Billy played guitar, Eric played bass, and Pat sang. It was hilarious as well as impressive.
They played for more than two hours, and the weather had to be wearing them out. I know I was getting tired! They made their way backstage, and most of the VIPs followed them. Singer Eric Martin came out and shook our hands, saying we ought to be glad it was him since the rest of the band had DNA on their hands...
Whether the band relented or the promoter said something, the band agreed to sign some things, but we had to pass them backstage via the security. Luckily for me, the security guards had me go first, since they liked the Less Paul. I wanted Paul Gilbert to sign it, but it turns out all four members did!
I went back to my hotel, took a shower and went to sleep.
The next day, I visited a friend before going to the airport. She's an air hostess for Singapore Airlines and had invited me to her place before I left.
If this was 1975, I'd have cued up the porno music.
But it's 2009, she's a friend's niece, and is a devoutly Christian woman. It was purely social. Which is fine with me.
I still get to say that an air hostess asked me back to her place. Close enough for me.
I had bought a Mr. Big shirt the night before, and as usual it was the last clean shirt I had for the trip, so I wore it.
"That shirt suits you so well," said a Singapore Airlines employee at the check-in counter with a flirtatious smile.
The coquettish nature of the statement was sadly alleviated by the fact that it was an obviously gay man saying it.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Besides, it's just the way my life goes.
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Tuesday, Oct 27, 2009 11:07AM /
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I apologize for a criminally short entry here, but my life has refused to come out of 5th gear lately...
I have been viewing lots of movies at the HK Asian Film Festival.
Most of them are Sion Sono (he directed Love Exposure) films: Hazard, Biciycle Sighs, Into A Dream, Suicide Club.
Yesterday I saw Mother, a Korean Film, and Air Doll, a Japanese film about a blow-up doll who comes to life. Not as salacious as you'd think, and a very good film. The cinematography was excellent.
There are very likely other films I saw that I can't remember, but as I said my brain is a mess lately from over-use and medication to combat the deleterious (!) effects of an unfortunate spike in pollution levels.
I enjoyed all the movies, and I am, as usual, grateful to Kevin 'Golden Rock' Ma for making sure the Absent-Minded Professor got to see these films. Without his help, I'd be sitting at home in my flat, staring at Kate Tsui.
Not that there's anything wrong with that...
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