Found these photos of the Shanghai building collapse on Gizmodo, of all places. Go there if you want to see even larger versions of these. Pretty fricking amazing, innit?

Ya know, one day, I don’t know when, someone in the China government is going to realize that if they really want to be a first world country, they need to have some laws that protect their citizens and they need to actually enforce those laws too.

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I don’t think this new iPhone app works very well.

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In the news today, in The Standard I think … a bunch of local kids in HK were playing Truth or Dare. A 12 year old girl lost. Her penalty? To have sex with a 16 year old boy for 10 minutes while everyone else watched. She did it. A few days later, a social worker at their school found out about this and the boy was convicted of having sex with a minor. No comment from me on this one; the story itself is enough.

Just got a call this morning. The guy who was my boss for my first 6 years at my current job died from a massive heart attack yesterday. Beautiful wife, 3 kids, 1 year younger than me. Certainly makes all my current unhappiness seem trivial by comparison.

And not to put too fine a point on it but the person who called and gave me the news told me he thought it was the job that killed him, or at least played a large factor in the stress that no doubt led to this. And I agree.

I realized this morning that getting hepatitis is one of the luckiest things that’s happened to me. Because if I didn’t have it, I’d be using the shit I’m going through right now as an excuse to drink like a lunatic. But because of it, I can’t even have a drop of the stuff.

Which was a great song by Was (Not Was) but that’s not what this post is about.

Michael Jackson’s been dead two days and the vultures are coming out. How much truth is in any of this remains to be seen. I have no idea how much or how little these sources are to be trusted.

First, from the UK’s News of the World:

Now for the first time the News of the World reveals the explosive story spelled out to author Victor M. Gutierrez in his shock book Michael Jackson Was My Lover: The Secret Diary of Jordy Chandler.

This is pretty detailed, salacious stuff. Here’s one of the milder excerpts:

The moment they arrived in the hotel room Jackson locked the door and asked Jordy if he wanted to take a hot bath. Jordy said: “While I was taking off my shirt Michael took me in his arms and began to kiss me.

Celebitchy links to another News of the World article about Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe. But follow the link and the story is gone. Here’s some of what they purport to be in that article:

JACKSON never had sex with her throughout their marriage and parenthood;

SHE offered to have babies for him after he told her that his first wife Lisa Marie Presley had refused to bear him any;

THE star arranged for a sham marriage to make them appear like a family;

HE cruelly ditched her when the painful second birth left her “all torn up inside” and unable to give him any more kids.

So the question is – is the truth coming out? Or are these also-wasses and never-wasses simply simply looking to cash in on others’ misfortune?

And if you think I’m just being grumpy or even the Grinch who stole Christmas for posting stuff like this, well maybe I’m am. I’ve had two successive days of bad news and disappointments and I could be all Mary Sunshine and say, “It can only go up from here!” But I doubt it.

Even more so in Hong Kong, eh?

After July 7th, stores are supposed to charge 50 cents (about 6.5 cents US) for plastic bags. They’re getting ready for this with signs and posters and …. items on store shelves now already in plastic bags, bags large enough to shove other items into as well, according to the SCMP.

All of this speaks to the fact that the government has done a frigging miserable job of explaining to the public why this might be a good idea. Take for example Mr. Cheung in today’s letters to the editor page, who exclaims, that the 50 cent levy amounts to a double tax because the shops have already included the cost of the bags in the prices on their goods and if they’re going to start charging for bags, they need to lower the price of everything else! I can actually see the logic in that thinking … but what do these bags cost the shop, purchased in massive bulk? probably a buck for a thousand? Anyway, when do shops in Hong Kong ever really reduce the price on anything?

Now a second article in the SCMP leads off with the headline, “Some feel embarrassed to take bags to shops.” It seems that more than 10% of people polled won’t be carrying their own bags to shops because it is inconvenient, difficult to remember or embarrassing.

But wait a minute! Doesn’t that mean that almost 90% of people polled do plan to bring bags along? 90% of the public plans to bring bags along with them, the newspaper chooses for god knows what reason to emphasize a tiny minority who won’t, and supermarkets are playing to the wishes of 10% of the public? (Not unusual, that last bit.) Ooooh, the SCMP stirring up controversy again!

Why, that second article even goes so far as to say that in a recent poll, 85% of those polled think the 50 cent charge is reasonable. But that’s buried at the bottom of the article. Why is the SCMP so determined to sabotage this initiative?

And now can we deal with all of the office buildings that hand out free plastic bags on rainy days for umbrellas?
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The Australian shithead who killed a taxi driver over the weekend was brought to court today and faces one count of murder. He didn’t enter a plea and is being held without bail. Perhaps he could be visited by the family of the taxi driver he allegedly murdered, and maybe get a visit from several hundred of that driver’s friends ….

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Wanna know the condition of Michael Jackson when he died? According to The Sun, he weighed 8 stone, was all but bald, his body was bruised and cut in several places and all that was found in his stomach during the autopsy was pills. If true, this is shaping up to be a Howard Hughes-style horror story.

UPDATE June 30 – TMZ says the coroner’s report in The Sun was a complete fabrication. And the L.A. County Coroner has released the following statement: “The report that is being published did not come from this office. I don’t know where the information came from, or who that information came from. It is not accurate. Some of it is totally false.”

Right now, the top grossing film in the U.S. in 2009 is Pixar’s Up, at $250m. Up hasn’t gone wide internationally yet so its foreign gross is just $20m. This is a film that is probably good.

The #2 film of the year is J.J. Abrams’ reboot of Star Trek, coming in at $246m so far. Plus an extra $123m abroad. This film doesn’t suck.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has grossed $200m in 5 days. Its opening day gross – a non-holiday Wednesday – was $60m. Foreign gross so far is $80m.

The rest of the top ten grossing films to date this year:

Monsters vs. Aliens – $195m
The Hangover – $183m
X-Men Origins: Wolverine – $177m (guess the leaked workprint didn’t hurt them that much)
Night at the Museum 2 – $163m
Fast & Furious 4 – $155m
Angels & Demons – $130m
Terminator Salvation – $121m

CGI rules in Hollywood.

#1 – This article in the SCMP bugs me for several reasons. The first is that when you look at that second paragraph, they insert (as they always do) a totally freaking useless link to themselves but none to Neptune Group, also a listed company and the subject of the damn article FFS!

And then there’s this bit:

Using a GPS-equipped mobile telephone, the journalist established that the Neptune was moored beyond Hong Kong waters in mainland territory near Dangan Island.

Which journalist? For which paper? You gonna tell me that the SCMP, with its limited budget, paid to put someone on an overnight gambling cruise ship for this purpose? That this is what they deem worthy of investigative reporting with everything else that goes on in HK? Or some guy wanted a sea cruise and managed to convince an editor to pay for it? FFS!

#2 – According to the SCMP, Friday night/Saturday morning, 22 year old “Australian passport holder” Kelsey Michael Mudd got into an argument with his taxi driver as it drove along Harcourt Road at 3:30 AM. And then the taxi driver crossed the divider on the road, smashing through a metal barrier and then crashed into three other taxis, and the driver subsequently died. The 58 year old taxi driver was married and had two children.

Now here’s where the story goes beyond the pale. Police and ambulances arrive on the scene, the paramedics are checking Mr. Mudd, and this genius decides to push them out of the way and drive off in the taxi! And makes it a full 50 meters before colliding head on with another taxi.

What can you say about someone who does this? And how long can we lock him away?

#3 – An okay article gone awry, “Struggling venues may turn a blind eye to smoking ban,” wherein two intrepid reporters interview various bar owners and managers to see if they will enforce the smoking ban on July 1st. But for some reason, reportage descends into editorializing and humor by the end of the article, when Dan Kadison decides to create lists of “winners and losers.” Winners include:

Snitches An offender who smokes in a bar and leaves can still be slapped with a summons if a witness chooses to rat them out in court.

So how is that a win? Does the “snitch” get a reward?

And losers?

Smokers who drive with children in the car Plenty of people want to see this banned

Which may be so, but WTF does that have to do with people smoking in bars?

In a related article (one in which the above would have belonged):

Ronald Lam Man-kin is the head of the Tobacco Control Office. “We are trying, of course, to strive for a smoke-free environment,” he said. “So the next step forward may include, for the protection of children, forbidding smoking in cars or putting in place some smoke-free movie [content] restrictions. But that’s just a wish list.”

No you putz. The next step forward is to ban the sale of cigarettes. Which probably will never happen because the Hong Kong government, like every government in the world, gets rich from the taxes on cigarette sales. And Mr. Lam would be out of a job. So stop the hypocrisy. 200 years from now scientists will probably discover they were wrong and that smoking is actually good for you. Noah smoked on the ark and gave a taste to most of the animals.

#4 – The way the SCMP posts letters to the editor even when they include blatant disregard for facts. Of course all the “intelligent design” supporters fit in there (and there are two more in the paper today). But what about this useless letter from someone castigating the owner of two dogs that died from the heat in Sai Kung last weekend? I’m all for that. Except that he writes:

However, unlike dogs, the owners were not walking in the heat in fur coats. And, unlike their owners, the dogs could not perspire through their skins to cool off. And the dogs died.

I have seen people walking dogs with heavy coats (for example, huskies) out in the sun when the temperature is more than 30 degrees Celsius.

Is this not cruelty to the dogs?

Dogs’ fur coats serve as insulation in both winter and summer. And cutting your dog’s hair short in the summer leaves him vulnerable to sun burn. Sometimes I think that in order to get a dog, you should be required to pass a test that proves you know something about raising one properly. Like, oh, when you take your dogs out for a hike or to the park, you gotta carry along some water for them? Cause I’ll bet the real nimrod in this case, the guy whose dogs died, was probably walking along with a bottle of water or coke or soy milk for himself – gosh, it’s hot, he’s thirsty, he never thinks the dogs might also get thirsty?

Well, nothing earth shaking in any of the above, I know. Just not much to do today and a bit of a headache.

I haven’t read Doonesbury regularly in years but I keep it in my RSS and every now and then there’s one that catches my eye, like this one. (Click on the image for larger version.)

Because, as promised, tonight we went for dinner at Magnolia, the private kitchen serving New Orleans cuisine in Sheung Wan. As mentioned in an earlier post, you need to book ahead here (and you need to pay in advance to get a confirmed booking) because they are only open for dinner 3 nights per week and just one seating per night. The cost is $450 per person – no credit cards, no service charge. And since as a private kitchen they don’t have a liquor license, they have no corkage fee. Magnolia is run by Go Gourmet Catering and chef Lori Granito. They also have a take-away and delivery service called Ragin’ Cajun.

Arrive at their door in Sheung Wan and there is a sitting room for all the guests, with the kitchen in full view. There’s chef Lori Granito and her staff working away. This kitchen is spotlessly clean – TV clean. There’s some New Orleans rock & roll and zydeco playing on the stereo to get you in the mood.

While in the sitting room, you’re served a fruit juice cocktail along with a bunch of appetizers that give you a good idea of what you’re in for. There was some semi-soft cheese topped with sun dried tomatoes and herbs with a basket of crackers and toasted baguette slices. A bit of sausage and cheese on a biscuit. Boiled crab claws with a spicy remoulade dressing. Some tiny cornbread muffins with cheese and jalapeno peppers. And what for us was the piece de resistance – the best salmon mousse I’ve ever had.

After half an hour, you walk through the kitchen and upstairs to one of the three dining rooms. Each room features a single long table and everyone is seated together. In our room, there were 15 people at the table and we all instantly introduced ourselves to each other and it took only minutes for us to feel as if we were at a dinner party instead of a restaurant. It was friendly and relaxing.

After a few minutes Lori came in, introduced herself, explained the Magnolia concept (since it was the first time there for almost all of us) and told us what we’d be eating.

First up was soup, a classic file gumbo with shrimps, crab, chicken and andouille sausage. Really nice. The salad course was a salad featuring soft shell crab amandine – expertly cooked but not a standout in terms of flavor.

And then the main part of the meal – served family style on platters and bowls. The cajun ribs were without question the best ribs I’ve ever had in Hong Kong – juicy and fall off the bone tender with a nicely balanced barbecue sauce. The jambalaya was wonderfully cooked as well. And I also got into the fried catfish, served with a spicy cocktail sauce. There was one other main dish – sorry, I’ve blanked on what it was. Side dishes included sweet potato mash, okra and corn, collard greens, white rice and cornbread.

Dessert was a slice of one of the best pecan pies I’ve ever tasted, served with fresh whipped cream and a strawberry.

Are you getting the impression that you get a hell of a lot of food for your money? Yeah. You do. And it’s really good. I could have been happy filling up on just the gumbo and the ribs, but I wanted to be sure to at least taste a little of everything being brought to our table; the end result being that four hours later, I still feel so stuffed! I left feeling that the quantity and quality of what we were served meant that $450 was actually a bargain. My gf loved every bite and ate in one sitting what she usually eats in 3 meals and I think if they brought out more dishes, she would have found some room for those too!

But to be honest, as much as I enjoyed the food, I wouldn’t rate it at 5 stars. They’re presenting classic New Orleans recipes, very well made (to the best of my limited knowledge with this cuisine), but there is nothing done to elevate them or make them unique. If I’ve got no food photos to share, that’s because presentation here was an afterthought at most – there’s a white bowl filled with okra, there’s a platter piled high with ribs – no sauces drizzled around the plate, no towers of stacked food, no bits of parsley or flowers for a garnish. I was expecting the food to be spicier, too – isn’t that a constant in Cajun and Creole dishes or am I misinformed? Was the heat toned down for local tastes? Most (but not all) of the people there tonight were expats.

(Or perhaps I’m being hypercritical. I’ve already said that the salmon mousse and pecan pie were the best I’ve ever had and the ribs were easily the best I’ve had in Hong Kong. And we enjoyed the jambalaya, catfish, crab claws and gumbo too!)

Of course, the success of Magnolia speaks for itself. It’s been in operation for roughly 4-1/2 years and seems to depend primarily on word of mouth. We noted that for many of the groups who were there, it was a couple who had already been there introducing the place to friends. And Granito’s approach of doing each day’s menu based on what she found fresh in the market that morning (combined, no doubt, with some New Orleans specific ingredients that are flown in) is an admirable philosophy.

If the food for me was “only” 4 stars, I’d easily rate the overall experience at 5 stars. The food was all fresh and expertly prepared and served. The party atmosphere meant that we really relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. Everyone was friendly and the meal is served over the course of three hours, so you have time to relax between courses and savor your food and build up your strength for the next course. Was it worth the drive from Sai Kung to Sheung Wan in a heavy rainstorm? You bet your ass it was!

Six months from now, I may not remember the taste of the dishes that we had, but I will always remember how much fun we had there. And yes, we definitely will go back.

So Michael Jackson is dead and I don’t give a shit. As far as I’m concerned, someone who had tremendous talent, twisted at an early age by rapaciously greedy parents, and when so many allegations are being tossed around, there has to be some truth there. But he spent the money on plastic surgeons and drugs instead of psychiatrists. 90% of what he released after Thriller was garbage. He squandered his money, his talent and his life. The King of Poop.

Really, how many months do you think it’s gonna take for a new Greatest Fits Shits Hits album to appear in stores? Until Michael McDonald, Rod Stewart, Laura Branigan, Willie Tyler & Lester, Siegfried and Roy and the Pussycat Dolls release tribute albums?

Today the people who are celebrating are those at Sony Music. “Thank god we won’t have to market whatever shitty new albums that sick twist would have managed to come up with. We can repackage alternate mixes and studio outtakes and half-finished demos for the next 50 years and clean up the way RCA does with Elvis!”

I’m sadder about Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon. Sky Saxon, founder of The Seeds (Pushin’ Too Hard) died on Thursday and this Jackson thing is gonna push that news off the front pages I think.

The new Transformers film is upon us. This we get day and date in Hong Kong. It will of course win the weekend box office and surely end up in the top ten top-grossing films of the year.

So far, with 122 reviews counted, Rotten Tomatoes scores it at just 20% – or 22% amongst “top critics.”

Manohla Dargis in the NY Times calls the film “cretinous.” The Village Voice says, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a bewildering, noisy, sloppy, cynical piece of work, a movie that sneers at the audience for 147 minutes and expects us to lap it up as entertainment—and be grateful.” Roger Ebert’s review starts off like this:

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is a horrible experience of unbearable length, briefly punctuated by three or four amusing moments. One of these involves a dog-like robot humping the leg of the heroine. Such are the meager joys. If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination.

He also says the film is “dumber than a box of staples.”

They love it in the UK too:

“Like watching paint dry while getting hit over the head with a frying pan!” (Bradshaw, Guardian); “Sums up everything that is most tedious, crass and despicable about modern Hollywood!” (Tookey, Daily Mail); “A giant, lumbering idiot of a movie!” (Edwards, Daily Mirror).

Apparently I am going to go see this in a local shoebox movie theater soon. It appears that this is what people want, the world over, so I’m curious. And curious to see just how big the numbers will be on Monday. And then we’re gonna get a lot more of the same. (Paramount’s next release this summer is a film based on G.I. Joe toys.)