Hong Kong Entertainment
Anything and everything that might amuse a visitor or Hong Kong resident.
Sevens Rugby Comes Back Home to Hong Kong
Five days until the 30th staging of the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens.
In 1976, at the Hong Kong Football Club, a tournament was launched, featuring a new game, invented to allow Hong Kong with its small population to compete at Rugby, The Hong Kong Rugby Sevens.
Lots of Action in the Stands
Date: March 26th, 2006 |
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Pianist Excites Audience - In Hong Kong (Believe it or not)
11 days until the Hong Kong Sevens!
Last Saturday night I attended a performance featuring The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra with guest artist, pianist, Kirill Gerstein, a last minute substitute for Boris Berezovsky, playing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3. The orchestra warmed us up with Sibelius’s “Finlandia” and his Third Symphony before Mr. Gerstein excited us all with his mastery of the popular Concerto.
The audience was so enthusiastic, Mr. Gerstein returned for two encores. I’ve been to many Classical music concerts but I can’t remember the last time I saw the featured artist actually responding to the audience by playing additional pieces. The myth that Hong Kong audiences are not capable of being moved was exploded again.
Date: March 21st, 2006 |
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The Seamier Side of Hong Kong’s Nightlife
Recently there has been an increase in interest in the situations of sex workers in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has recently been accused of being a transit point for prostitute trafficking, the WTO protesters contained a group of sex workers, one of the two NGOs reaching out to sex workers is losing its funding, and some investigative reporting has been done by the South China Morning Post.
Date: March 16th, 2006 |
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Take Me To the Movies
I’m one of those who still believe that the best way to see a movie is in the environment for which it was created, a theater.
This week, we, in Hong Kong, have an embarrassment of riches with the choice of fine movies available. At the Palace in the International Finance Center, our favorite venue, three of the five Oscar nominees for best picture are showing. The other two, including the winner, “Crash,” have, unfortunately come and gone. “Brokeback Mountain,” “Walk the Line” and “Munich” are all here. The Palace also has three others showing that were prominently featured in the Oscar Awards: “Capote,” “Pride and Prejudice” and “Transamerica.”
Date: March 11th, 2006 |
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What Is Flamenco Doing In Hong Kong?
Yesterday afternoon, at the Cultural Center, I witnessed a transcendent performance of Flamenco by Eva Yerbabuena and her troupe of dancers, singers and musicians. I thought I had seen Flamenco before but I was wrong. This was genuine Flamenco: passionate, improvised at times, well-rehearsed at others and most of all exhibiting an indefinable beauty.
Eva Yerbabuena Dancing “Torre de la Villa”
The reason I mention this is to underline a point I’ve been making in previous blogs like The Hong Kong Arts Festival and More To Do Than Ride the Peak Tram. …
Date: March 5th, 2006 |
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Hong Kong Disneyland Bashing Continues
Six days until the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens!
As I reported in a recent entry, Disney Bashing Is All the Rage Hong Kong Disneyland keeps getting bashed by the newspapers and in TV news and in the Letters to the Editor columns.
Recently Disney offered a choice of free items for people who book through travel agents. They also offered Hong Kong residents a free pass to be used within 90 days for every ticket purchased. The Hong Kong Inbound Tourist Association Head, Leung Yiu-lam, complained that the new offers were not attractive to travel agents or visitors. Without going into detail, his further remarks made it clear that, in his opinion, Disney is not paying the Travel Agents enough to sell tickets to Disneyland.
Date: March 25th, 2006 |
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The Seamier Side of Hong Kong’s Nightlife - Part 2
This entry is continued from yesterday’s entry in which I quoted some statistics, talked about where the prostitutes in Hong Kong come from and what some of the issues are. Today I discuss why prostitution exists, who if anyone is to blame and raise the idea that there’s little that can be done to end prostitution. Which leaves the question: what’s best for the sex workers?
To me the problem is primarily an economic one. If someone can earn, in a month, more than a year’s wages in their home country, why are people surprised that they do it? The real criminals are those in the women’s home countries who through corruption, favoritism and other actions keep people from earning a living wage. I won’t even mention the hypocrisy of politicians decrying moral decline while doing everything in their power to protect their economic self interest which creates the atmosphere they are railing against.
Date: March 17th, 2006 |
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Disney Bashing Is All the Rage
I picked up my South China Morning Post this morning and was shocked to discover that the Disneyland management was interested in taking responsibility for handling queue jumping and similar disturbances instead of calling in the police. So what’s the problem? Actually there are two issues.
One is that most anywhere else in the world the police would not expect to be called in to handle queue jumping in an amusement park. The other is what appears to be a power struggle between government employees and Disneyland management over how situations should be handled. The government people want a free hand. Disney wants to keep disruption of other guests in the park to a minimum. I must say, I agree with Disney. If I was having a party, would I want the police to come charging in if one of my guests was rowdy and I was handling the situation myself? Of course I wouldn’t.
Date: March 13th, 2006 |
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“Beating the Devil” in Hong Kong
Twice a year, during the White Tiger Festival in March and the Hungry Ghosts Festival in August, practitioners gather in Wan Chai to “Beat the Devil” with their shoes. In most cases the devil is often someone who is bedeviling the petitioner. Bosses and co-workers are particularly popular.
Monday March 6th, hundreds of people of all ages queued up on Canal Road to pay HK$50.00 (US$6.50) to have images or representations of their personal devils pummeled to oblivion with a shoe accompanied by loudly shouted curses and imprecations. According to observers, the crowd is …
Date: March 8th, 2006 |
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Hong Kong’s Annual Flower Show
This surprisingly interesting event is held every year in Victoria Park. I’ve been a couple times and it’s even fascinating for non-gardeners like me. If you are in town or arriving in the next week or so, I suggest dropping by.
Flower Show Poster
This year’s theme is “Enchanting Beauty.” The featured flower is the bright white and red Dianthus. In addition to flowers, the show features potted plants, floral arrangements and landscape displays. There’s lots of stuff for sale. It runs from today, March 3rd through Sunday, March …
Date: March 3rd, 2006 |
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