TT was in Singapore last week for a court appearance, the first time in two years that we have visited the Lion City. The best thing about Singapore is its airport, which claims to have the lowest duty free prices in the region. To our surprise, the prices were not the best we’ve seen, although with inflation starting up it may become more difficult to keep track of the real bargains. Here’s a rundown of some of the deals on offer (as usual, all are for a 1 liter bottle unless otherwise noted, and are in US$, converted at the rate of 1.365):
$48.72 Glenlivet 15-year scotch
$68.13 Glenlivet 18-year scotch
$188.28 Johnny Walker Blue scotch
$47.99 Glenfiddich 12-year scotch
$31.36 Chivas Regal 12-year scotch (1.14 l)
$83.52 Chivas Regal 18-year scotch
$134.07 Remy Martin XO cognac
$165.57 Hennessy XO cognac
$15.68 Absolut vodka
$22.56 Baileys liquer
$16.04 Kahlua liquer
$18.10 Bombay Saphire gin
$15.09 Bacardi rum
$17.07 Myers rum
$15.68 Jim Beam bourbon
$40.29 Taylors 10-year port (75 cl)
$78.39 Taylors 20-year port (75 cl)
$151.65 Dom Perignon 2000 champagne (75 cl)
We just received a press release from Japan’s Oki Electronics that henceforth the company’s employee canteen in Tokyo will do double duty as fuel supplier to its fleet of diesel trucks. The leftover oil and grease from the kitchen will be converted into biodiesel. While this may seem like a worthy effort to reduce dependence on hydrocarbons, decrease carbon footprint, etc. etc., there is an obvious ethical objection: Doesn’t this incentivize the company to serve ever greater proportions of greasy food to its employees? It seems that the workers’ coronary arteries will be among the victims of the latest oil shock.
Two fascinating articles appeared in the last day which, while very different, both shed light on the tendency of Westerners to give China a free ride on issues of human rights and civil liberties. Paul Mooney writes on self-censorship in the groves of academia, while the China diary of George H.W. Bush’s tenure as ambassador to Beijing reveals, ironically enough, infuriation with his countrymen for failing to apply the same standards used to criticize the Soviet Union.
1,200 girls in bikinis formed the Olympic rings in Guangzhou, apparently as part of an effort to set a world record. The Olympics are truly inspiring the Chinese people to outstanding aesthetic achievements.
Think twice before you tell somebody they have bad breath, especially if they have a lead pipe handy. That’s the message of this Philippine Inquirer story about a Quezon City man who was bludgeoned to death in retaliation for his observation. The police are now hunting for Federico Marcos Jr., who reportedly said “Do not tell me that I have bad breath. I won’t mind going to jail as long as I get to kill you.”
This just in from Xinhua: Chinese scientists have found that the scent of cat urine on a male mouse makes him more attractive to female mice. Par for the course with Xinhua, the story is so confusing it’s hard to say exactly what the experiment showed. But maybe this will help explain one of the mysteries of human behavior, why women are attracted to bad boys and men with fast cars — a whiff of danger is the ultimate turn-on.
Time magazine exposes the newest thing in Japanese pornos, movies starring elderly couples. It’s all part of the aging of society, we suppose. But titles like “Forbidden Elderly Care” make us wonder whether perhaps video night at the nursing home should be chaperoned.
A journalist’s account of an afternoon in the world’s biggest, and emptiest, mall in Dongguan, and learning how to play card games with the bored staff.
Looks like Hong Kong University is embracing one of the worst parts of Western academia: multi-culti victim studies. We received an email today announcing the launch of a book series from HKU Press entitled “Queer Asia,” and dedicated to opening “a space for books from all disciplines on non-normative sexuality and gender cultures, identities and practices in Asia.” An attempt to explain what that mouthful of jargon really means is promised at the launch party.
Presumably one of the reasons for hosting the Olympics was to show the world that China has a vibrant cultural scene and is no longer a country of dingy state-run restaurants where the staff’s standard refrain is “mei you” (don’t have). So it’s hard to understand the decision to close down Beijing Timeout magazine, which like its counterparts around the world is dedicated to helping you find the hippest hangouts and most happening cultural venues. (Download the last issue here.)
An interesting piece from the American Journalism Review on the possible dangers facing foreign journalists covering the Olympics in Beijing. OK, so it is a bit overwrought. But then again it is not too hard to imagine a violent outburst against foreigners by Chinese fans upset about their champion’s loss on the sporting field — it has happened before.
After many years of watching Amazon in vain, we finally found a copy of “Noble House” on DVD. Apparently it just came out, as it is prominently displayed at the Hong Kong HMV. First aired on American television in 1988, the eight-hour miniseries is a pretty good take on the territory in the 1980s. Not having read the book, we can’t say how faithful it is to James Clavell’s original, but it has good production values, not to mention Pierce Brosnan and some other fine actors. The juxtapositioning within a few days of several real-life disasters — the fire in the Aberdeen floating restaurant, a mid-levels high rise falling down, and a jockey trampled to death on the track — gives the impression that Hong Kong was once a thrilling, if dangerous, place indeed. Check out John Rhys-Davies as the evil taipan Quillan Gornt perusing the Feb. 5, 1987 issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review.
PM Kevin Rudd’s belated visit to Japan catches the gimlet eye of the Australian’s animation department (that’s what we need!) here.
Meanwhile, the Cairns Post has the thrilling tale of a man whose, er, trouser snake was bitten by a real snake. Must have been a case of snake envy.
From the Hong Kong Standard we learned of this novel application of YouTube: Shaming deadbeat dads. Briton Simon Sywak has been dodging his ex-wife Helen in the U.K., claiming he couldn’t pay his alimony because he’s jobless and broke. Turns out he’s been working as a VP for JP Morgan in Singapore. Dunno, but we’ve heard they pay pretty well. Or maybe they don’t once their employees get done for failing to comply with court orders. Helen believes he may now be hiding out in Hong Kong.
… Chinese version. Ambrica Productions has a new Frontline program on China’s young people for America’s public broadcasting stations, to be aired June 17.
RFA Unplugged reports on a new craze among Pyongyang’s elite for a deluxe brand of South Korean rice cookers. The perfect product to show off your wealth in a socialist paradise where most people don’t have enough rice to eat, let alone a fancy cooker.
Hong Kong is host to many a trade show and exposition, but one upcoming event this week at the convention center caught our eye: The ITE MICE show. This is an expo about, well, holding expos (MICE stands for meetings, incentives, conference and exhibitions). Actually it turns out this is hardly unique — there is a whole industry that revolves around setting up meetings for the meetings industry with a busy calendar. Now, we’d like to be first in proposing a convention of MICE industry convention planners….
The tragic murders in Akihabara yesterday have justifiably shocked Japan, especially since it is only a few months since another such case of a man running amok with a knife killing random Tokyoites. But as this blog post notes, there is a certain irony to this attack taking place in Akihabara. The area is home to the MAD store, which sells hunting knives. And the store, like many businesses in Japan, prominently displays a “no foreigners” sign — apparently gaijin are too dangerous to be trusted with sharp objects. As Pogo said, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
Two wacky stories from Reuters, the first about the $6,000 watermelon (what, $100 canteloupes weren’t good enough?), and the second about a hula troupe in the city of Obama which is paying tribute to an American politician of the same name.
The Marmot’s Hole points out a potentially explosive new element in the ongoing controversy between the U.S. and Korea over beef imports: Michael Jordan refuses to eat Korean barbeque in the new Hanes commercial below.
Scientists in New Zealand have found a way to reduce sheep farting, a major source of greenhouse gases. If it works for cows too, it could dramatically cut the world’s output of methane, which has a much greater effect on climate than carbon dioxide.
Sally Lo MBE, chairman of the Hong Kong Cancer Fund and one of Hong Kong’s great and good, sent out an email to supporters Wednesday with an apology. It turns out that the Fund’s new Prostate Cancer awareness campaign’s corporate sponsor was unsuitable: “It was brought to our attention that Alfred Dunhill, who we regard as a luxury brand of clothing and accessories, is also linked to the tobacco industry.” Quelle horreur!
It’s worth noting that Dunhill cigarettes are made by British American Tobacco, and are absolutely delicious. Try one today!
Moreover, luxury brands group Richemont owns both 30% of BAT as well as the Dunhill brand. It also produces Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Panerai, Montblanc, Chloe, Shanghai Tang, Baume and Mercier, Lange & Sohne, Lancel, Montegrappa and Purdey. So if Hong Kong Taitais are boycotting brands associated with Dunhill cigarettes, they may find themselves with few baubles to play with.
This evening the REVIEW won two honorable mentions at the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) annual dinner. But it was amusing to find that, even in an event run by reporters and editors, a major typo crept in: The banner on stage proclaimed the “2008 Awards for Editional Excellence.” There but for the grace of God go I, we editions were thinking.
Before anyone thinks that we have it in for SCMP scribes, there have always been plenty of good journalists at the paper. Take Ben Kwok, who of late has been writing the Lai See column on the back of the business section.
Word on the street has it that Mr. Kwok’s May 20 column so angered Henderson Land Chairman Lee Shau-kee that a call went out to the paper’s top management to demand the writer be fired. The reporter’s sin was simply to point out that while Mr. Lee criticized Sun Hung Kai for including the three Kwok brothers in its top management — “Too many kids working in a company could spell trouble” — he himself has given three of his five children roles in his own company. Thankfully, it seems that for now the SCMP’s tycoon owners are backing up their writer.
