Short post: In a remote location in Korea...will post more detailed update later. There are straight crops growing here, which made me appreciate all the more what is now my new favorite video...
A couple of weekends ago, I met up with a couple of friends (Seth and Tommy) in incredibly hot and humid Hong Kong. It just so happened to be the 10th anniversary of the Hong Kong handover from Britain to China.
Which made me think back to the original circumstances leading up to this event. Talk about a gangster moment in history.
Britain: "What?! You don't want me slanging opium in China? I know you did NOT just dump my product into the harbor. I know you di-iidn't!!!!
Do you realize what kind of cannons I roll with? Have you seen my cannons, son?!
Oh you falling back now? Well you are now going to have to pay me for lost product and wasting cannonballs. Oh, and how about you give me Hong Kong? Please sign here: Treaty of Nanjing (1842)."
Fast forward 155 years and England agrees to hand Hong Kong back to the motherland in 1997.
Many HK residents, like some of my uncles, left HK right before the handover, because they were worried about how Hong Kong, a capitalist bastion under British rule (famous for such signs as "No dogs and No Chinese"), would be integrated into a communist country. In other words, they didn't know if somebody was going to fock with they paper.
Fast forward another 10 years, and the official policy, "One country two systems," seems to be working like gangbusters. HK is still awash in C.R.E.A.M. with all these mainland Chinese companies listing themselves on the Hong Kong bourse. Many people who left in 1997 are now returning to HK, after seeing nothing has really changed since the handover. Their worst fears unrealized.
And what better way to celebrate the 10th anniversary than with an outdoor music concert in downtown Hong Kong?
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Oh and I found my long lost great-greatgrandfather's road in Hong Kong...
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Anyway after the weekend was over, Tommy went off to Singapore. Seth went back to Manila, where word on the streets is that this shorty is taking over.
(The author, Ryan Nerz, of my favorite book so kindly sent this clip.)
Alright so I've been a bit delinquent with my updates lately. I've been in a bit of state of flux so to speak (more on this later). First off, Seth's visit a few weeks ago tuckered a brotha out, depleting him of blogging energy/motivation.
I did recharge a bit when I went camping for the first time. Not just in China. But like my first time ever. Sure I've done camping day trips. Hikes, what have you. But I had never slept under the stars, like all premeditated and what not. I embarked on a great wilderness adventure, quite skeptical of what China had to offer outside of Beijing proper.
I ended up sleeping on a rock.
You know what? It wasn't so bad. (One of the tent occupants kindly lent me her sleeping bag). I was actually quite surprised at how pleasant the scenery was.
China never ceases to surprise me, both good and bad. I mean, would you expect to see this landscape 2 hours outside of Beijing?!
On a non-environmental tip, I have also been DJing at this spot, VICS. This picture was taken on a Wednesday night.
DJing here in Beijing has provided an interesting sociological window into the Chinese youth culture. For one thing, Chinese people can't really dance. Not to generalize or stereotype or anything. Have you seen that movie, Weekend at Bernie's? When I look out onto the dancefloor, it's kind of like that. They just sway back and forth like lifeless forms. It focks up my DJing. Basically the test is: if Bernie can't dance to a beat that's somewhat syncopated, the dancefloor just might clear out.
For example, one night I felt I was losing the crowd, so I kind of panicked and put on something "safe." I threw down Prince, "Kiss." Dancefloor. Empty. I was blown away. I had never had that happen before. I told my friend, Beverly, and she was like, "What parallel universe did that happen in?!" China. It's called China.
However...if there are some lizzadies and/or some laowai's (foreigners), who demonstrate a knack for some jiggle-booty activities with the music, the rest of the crowd follows suit. The results can be magic (and produce really bad audio quality).
Oh, and Chinese people really like Hip Hop Hooray!
