(Image from BoingBoing – click for larger size)
So the entire world’s in a panic over the flu (which we’re not supposed to call swine flu anymore, because the pork industry complained) and I’ve got the flu and it just won’t go away. I don’t have H1N1, I’ve got something else, think I’ll call it Bongo Fever, for no particular reason.
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, sky’s a bit hazy gray but temps are nice, the water’s filled with people in boats, I’m sure the park is full too, but I’m home, watching it all from the terrace. Not to mention that this means I’ll be home sick on my birthday, not up for doing anything crazy or close to it.
I kind of figured my gf might have something special planned for the day and told her to cancel it. “Who told you?” “No one, you just did with your reaction!” She won’t say what it was – presumably it wasn’t getting all of her friends to sleep with me but one never knows, do one?
Woke up this morning got myself a gun with moderate fever and threw up most of the small dinner I’d had last night. The outpatient clinic in town only operates a half day on Saturdays and was fully booked, which meant a taxi ride to the Tseung Kwan O hospital emergency room in Hang Hau. Even though I got there around 8:30 in the morning, after going through triage it was almost 90 minutes till a doctor could see me. They have this special roped-off waiting area for patients with fever; I got to sit there alone with my mask on and look at everyone look at me, glancing up from their newspapers and tales of HK’s first confirmed H1N1 case; maybe they were wondering if I was to be the second?
So, some stronger meds this time and advice that I should just keep taking the drugs, wait it out, come back in 3 days if still ill.
The only thing more depressing than being ill on one’s birthday is seeing Facebook status updates & tweets from people – ostensibly adults! – who went to see Wolverine and say they loved it. It’s a movie for teens & tweens, and not a very well made one at that. It almost succeeds in making Xmen 3 palatable – almost. (Yet it seems on track for an $85 million opening weekend in the US – despite the internet leak – proving once again that bad taste is timeless.)(And actually doesn’t this serve as some kind of blow to all of Hollywood’s crying about anti-piracy?)
Of course, in HK we get movies like Wolverine and 17 Again day and date (or close to it) with the US release. We wait months for anything that even vaguely resembles adult entertainment (at least by Hollywood definitions) – we’re still waiting for State of Play, Sunshine Cleaning, Observe & Report, Duplicity and so many others. But I suppose this is a reflection of the actual or perceived tastes of local audiences. At least other countries have a depth of theaters and screens so if you don’t wanna go see some grade-Z remake of Fatal Attraction starring Beyonce (Obsessed), you’re not starved for other choices.
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Idolator digs a funny ad out of Craigslist:
A Craigslist ad titled “I caught my guitarist screwing my wife so I am selling his guitar amp!” has some pretty, uh, interesting specs on the amp itself: “It has three channels, Clean, Crunch, and Look At Me, I Am Playing Another Lead! It has a foot switch that changes between the channels and turns on and off the effects loops so you can have a ginourmous home made pedal board and look like the biggest douche that ever graced the stage of the Riot Room. There is also a reverb so you can make your guitar sound like the moaning echos of a man who’s wife is a cheating whore. I assure you, it is in pristine shape, as the former owner took care of it like it were his baby. Well, he is busy taking care of other things now, isn’t he? Please buy this thing before I throw it through the window of his house.”
I think his wife cheated on him due to poor grammar.
