I bag to differ… November 1, 2006
Posted by somelikeitscott in Asia, Blogroll, Expat, Fashion, Hanoi, Life, Pop Culture, South East Asia, Uncategorized, Vietnam, Work.6 comments
So, some time ago at work, I got word that the production department was going to have to change the shape of a particular bag that will appear in an upcoming collection.
Apparently, there had been complaints from agents who had been showing the bags at trade shows. It seems that a number of people noticed the resemblance of the shape of the purse to ladies’ underwear.
Admittedly, I have embellished the photo a touch to exaggerate the effect. Still, the underpants comparison was made by numerous people.
I cracked up at length when they told me. I think it was my highlight for that particular week. I still giggle about it. Hope you do too.
Until next time…
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I love podcasts / people sure say some stupid shit sometimes… October 19, 2006
Posted by somelikeitscott in Blogroll, Life, Podcasts, Politics, Pop Culture, Uncategorized.add a comment
“We’re hoping to be able to turn grass into Cellulose Ethanol, and I hope there will be enough left for the occasional spliff.”
Gold. That was Richard Branson speaking on alternative energy sources on the October 17th episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, one of the sundry podcasts I’ve been listening to of late. I’m with ya, brother.
I’ve been growing ever more addicted to podcasts recently. I chalk it up to missing the CBC. I know that I can listen live on the web, but the time change turns me off. Instead, I just download the podcast versions of my favourite programmes, and then I’m never too far away from Sook Yin Lee and Anna Maria Tremonte and the rest. I find it’s a nice way to keep me connected to what’s going on in North America, even if it often pains me to hear it.
I’ve also been listening to Democracy Now with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. I find that one particularly infuriating, but I have so much respect for them and what they do. They present a forum for viewpoints that seem too often stifled by mainstream North American media, and I personally really appreciate that.
On the more light-hearted side, my favourites are Definitely Not the Opera – or DNTO for those in the know – and WTF, which I’ve mentioned before.
Somewhere in between lies Real Time with Bill Maher, which often leaves me in stitches but whose political content also tends to inflame my temper. It’s not so difficult to get me riled up. Take, for instance, the following quotation also taken from the October 17th show.
“Multiculturalism does not work in any country in the world.”
-Lou Dobbs
What kind of a ridiculous statement is that? I see this debate ultimately boiling down to semantics over the word “work,” but honestly, that’s one of the most asinine statements I have ever heard. Is Mr. Dobbs’s solution for us to split ourselves up and all live on separate islands with our own kind? I’m a white Canadian, so do I join with all the folks who look like me and live in my geographic area? But wait, my cultural heritage is a mix of Anglo-Saxon and Italian. So, what does that mean? Do I move to England or Italy? Listen, Mr. Dobbs, the very fact that many many of us are even on this planet proves that MULTICULTURALISM WORKS. It’s not always pretty, and there are conflicts, but that doesn’t mean that we should cease trying to live together in peace. If cultural hegemony is really what you’re after in the US, let’s make a deal. I’ll stay out of your country and you stay out of mine. I take that back. You’re always welcome in Canada, but quite frankly I have no interest in spending time with people who deep down wish only to ever be around their own. What a giant step backwards and a bloody waste of time. And that’s where it will necessarily lead, by the way, to bloodshed.
I’m done.
Until next time…
P.S. Anyone know of anything else interesting out there I should check out?
P.P.S. I’m having problems with my Flickr (photos) account today, so my Bangkok photos post will have to wait another day…
Why am I not in Bangkok tonight? October 18, 2006
Posted by somelikeitscott in Asia, Bangkok, Blogroll, Expat, Hanoi, Hip-Hop, Life, Pop Culture, South East Asia.add a comment
Why, when J Hova has flown halfway around the world to grace SE Asia’s expats and hip-hop heads with his illustrious presence, am I wallowing in Hanoi twiddling my thumbs?
Have a great time Aviva! I want to hear all about it.
And I can’t even go home and throw on the Black Album or Reasonable Doubt or whatever because all that ish was on my laptop. D’oh.
Maybe a trip to the bootleg shop is in order. Shh…don’t tell Jay…
So, due to my having forgotten the usb cable for my camera at home, I’ll have to delay my promised pics post until tomorrow. I hope too many aren’t waiting with baited breath…
Until next time…
Bangkok is the future… October 17, 2006
Posted by somelikeitscott in Asia, Bangkok, Blogroll, Consumerism, Expat, Hanoi, Life, Politics, Pop Culture, South East Asia, Thailand, Travel, Uncategorized, Vietnam.add a comment
At least it feels that way when you’re coming from Vietnam. From the slick new polished steel airport to the multi-cultural cosmopolitan downtown to the cops scooting around on Segway scooters, the journey from Hanoi to Bangkok traverses time as much as space.
Of course, Thailand is far from perfect, but even under martial law, life in the city appears not so different from the previous time I was there under more stable circumstances. The mounting protests provide some insight into growing disenchantment with the military authority, but people are very calm and seem largely content with the current situation. I think, however, they do very much expect the interim government to keep to the proposed timeline for new elections, which would put them sometime next year.
I had a good trip. It was nice to see Aviva, as usual, and I was able to leave my computer with some technicians who actually do inspire confidence. The bad news is they were still not able to restore my hard drive, which means I have lost a whole lot of stuff that was pretty important to me. C’est la vie. On the bright side, I’ll get a new hard disk and DVD burner so that in the future I will be able to make the backups I clearly should have been making all along. And because the silver bullet is still under warrantee, the repairs won’t cost me anything.
Please, learn from my mistakes.
I was only in Bangkok for a day and half, so I didn’t really get up to too much, especially considering a sizable portion of my time was used dealing with computer stuff. I must say, it blows my mind exactly how many different malls are crammed into close quarters around Siam Square. Westerners need a new pastime besides CONSUMING. Can I say that or is it too revolutionary a sentiment for this day and age? We’re exporting these ideals to the East at a frenetic pace, yet they’re just going to NOT FILL the same void here that they already DON’T FILL in the West. Why do we do it? I guess misery loves company.
I’m too beat to continue this diatribe just now, so let’s make a deal. I’ll cut it short and tomorrow, I’ll post some pics from my trip to illustrate the title line of this post.
Until then…
To each his (more likely, her) own… October 8, 2006
Posted by somelikeitscott in Art, Blogroll, Expat, Hanoi, Pop Culture, Uncategorized, Vietnam.2 comments
Right next door to Puku – the coolest café in Hanoi (1) – is a little painter’s studio. It’s one of the dime a dozen shops in Hanoi’s Old Quarter where one can go to order a reproduction of basically any painting one so chooses (2).
The first time I paid any attention to this particular studio was just a few months back when Aviva and I, on our way to Puku for lunch, spotted – to our unending shock – a personal portrait of Oprah. That’s right, Oprah Winfrey. Is there any other Oprah?
Here’s Aviva with her hero.
Now, I like Oprah as much as the next person. Do I personally feel the urge to have her likeness shine down upon me 24/7? Frankly no, but I also don’t wish to judge the person who does. Aviva and I inquired about who commissioned the portrait and learned that it was ordered online by a Canadian woman.
So, OK, as strange as I may find it, I can accept that somewhere in the great nation of my birth someone has a picture of the Opester hanging on her wall. I imagine it brings her great comfort, and has enriched her life – or at least her interior design scheme – to a degree she never before dreamed. I can buy that. Why not? Say what you will about her, but Oprah is an inspiring lady.
I can’t, however, make the same leap of faith regarding the painting I saw in the very same shop today. I stared hard at the canvas for several moments trying to figure out who was looking back at me. I was pretty sure I recognized Jennifer Lopez, but the dude on her arm while looking very familiar to me I just couldn’t place. It wasn’t until I discussed the sighting with my housemate Elodie that I realized the gentleman in question is in fact Marc Anthony.
Elodie tells me that the pair have recently married. I had no idea (3). So my question is, just who the hell has the burning desire to hang these two on their wall? Could it be the dynamic duo themselves? Somehow, I feel like between them, they could afford to order their portrait from a glitzier studio than this one. But what do I know? I do think the artist did some nice brushwork on Marc Anthony’s suit.
OK, so I have no right to judge the folks who commissioned this “work of art” anymore than their counterpart with the Oprah fetish. I’m not too familiar with Marc Anthony, but JLo was pretty good in Out of Sight. I have to give her that. And remember Oliver Stone’s U-Turn? That was kind of a gutsy performance for an aspiring popstar. I just wonder whom I’ll see next. I’m very curious and more than a little scared.
Should any of my faithful readers have anyone they’d like immortalized on canvas – celebrity or otherwise – you can check out the Long Gallery’s website at www.longgallery.com (4). Presumably, they’ll ship just about anywhere. If you’re in Hanoi, they’re located at 60 Hang Trong, but you could have the same service performed at any number of places.
My next entry will focus on Vietnamese weddings. ‘Tis the season. Until then…
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1. See “An Unfocussed Post” for more details.
2. I’d steer clear of anything too obtuse or complicated like, say, Picasso. Although, they do seem to do a lot of Klimt.
3. See “I’m, like, so fashionable“ for remarks on my self-imposed exile from meaningless celebrity gossip/news.
4. So, apparently this isn’t the right link. I assure you that the gallery on which I write is not located in Scotsdale Arizona. I’ll look into it…
Some Like it Scott 