THIS DARLING LIFE

What kind of person could be cruel enough to smash a puppies legs and then dump it it a drain , still alive? This is one of the stories showcased in the documentary film This Darling Life that we went to see at UA Times Square yesterday. The main story is about the filmmakers love of her two dogs and how she copes with the death of one of them. Another interesting story is about a homeless guy and his dog. Really gritty stuff but excellent insight into how local Hong Kong residents treat their dogs, both good and bad.

I see they have a website (complete with required animation) and a blog with plenty of Youtube clips. Just wondering why the Chinese title mentions dogs but the English title doesn't. Surely if they are trying to educate people about dogs then the title should have some reference to dogs? Not a big deal though, I guess, and if the film manages to encourage people to treat animals better then it will have been successful anyway. Well worth seeing, in my opinion.

INVESTMENT GEM

Picking through all the new equestrian books on the "New Additions" shelf at the library recently, I came across a stock investment gem: Predicting the Markets of Tomorrow, by James P. O'Shaughnessy (published in 2006). O'Shaugnessy is the same guy who wrote the investment classic "What Works on Wall Street".

In this book there's a great chapter on behavioural economics in which he attempts to explain why human emotions conspire to damage investment returns. I've always believed that if you can learn to control your emotions your investment returns should improve dramatically.

I particularly like the following passage on page 131: "In his book Mean Markets and Lizard Brains (catchy title), Terry Burnham says that there are biological causes for irrational financial behaviour, and these in turn cause market panics and crashes. We literally are reverting to our "lizard brain" when faced with the emotion-jarring task of investing our money. He points out what a recent study at MIT confirmed - the most successful investors are those who have a system in place to guard against emotional decisions.

Exactly!

WHAT POLLUTION?

Beautiful clear day today in The Valley. This shot, taken from our balcony this morning, is looking across the Happy Valley racecourse towards Wanchai. You can Even see Bank of China and the IFC in the background.

PLUCKING FENG SHUI

Mrs. V. is startled yesterday when she notices some hairs growing between my eyebrows. I'm not that surprised as they've been there for years and I'm wondering if this is the first time she's had a good close look at my face since we met ten years ago?. Probably!

Mrs. V. is a keen student of face reading, feng shui and other mysterious arts like fashion and interior decoration. According to her, having these hairs means I have a "closed heart" and I'll need to have them removed immediately so that I can have more of an "open heart". I'm hoping she doesn't mean open heart surgery.

With Mrs. V's birthday coming up, perhaps an "open heart' might translate into a better gift? Whatever the reason, I manage to distract her for now but I know a painful plucking is imminent.

ASSEMBLE YOUR TRIBE

Spotted this catchy slogan on a billboard above the Windows of the World Metro station in Shenzhen last weekend. "Assemble your tribe" - did they send the sign to Africa to get proofread?

DRESSAGE FOR DUMMIES

With the 2008 Olympic equestrian events being held in Hong Kong later this year, the government is on a mission to create some interest in equestrian sports. Good luck! Everyone knows that if there's no gambling involved there's little chance residents of the city will have any interest.

One bright idea the bureaucrats came up with was to to flood the public libraries with English language equestrian books. Exciting titles like Deciphering Dressage, Down to Earth Dressage and Training the Modern Jumper have been rapidly filling up the "New Book Additions" shelves at public libraries all across Hong Kong.

I really hope these lovely books are used but I'm pretty certain they'll just be collecting dust for the next few decades in the very underused English language books section.

METRO CASH & CARRY

After my aborted visit to the new Shenzhen Ikea a few weeks ago, I checked out the adjacent Metro Cash & Carry store (European City, 255 Shahe East Road, 0755 8602 8888). I was particularly impressed with their wine section which had a good variety of wine from all over the world and at similar prices to Hong Kong. Looked like they weren't trying to extract an extra "wine is a luxury so we should charge more" premium like most other places in Shenzhen. Picked up some reasonably priced French Rose' and tried to pay at the checkout. Found out you had to be a member and when I saw the crowd at the membership counter I gave up and went home.

This visit though, armed with a utility bill (showing a local address) and my passport, I went early and signed up. Got my free membership card processed in a few minutes and headed for the wine section. Picked up some Cellier des Dauphins Cotes Du Rhone Rose'. Also grabbed some German Pumpernickel bread on the way to the checkout. They even had whole pig carcasses hanging in the freezer section. Try getting one of those in the taxi.

Back home sampling my purchases, I saw Metro Cash & Carry mentioned on the Shenzhen Government website as a German company. Ah! No wonder they have lots of imported European food and wine. Looks like I've found my local wine shop. Might even pick up some Blue Nun next visit. Cheers!

SHENZHEN IKEA PART II

After last weeks aborted attempt to check out the new monster Ikea in Nanshan, I was up early today and decided to try again. Taxi dropped me off in the underground car park which I noticed had a rank of waiting taxis, even before the place had opened. Arrived just before the 10AM opening and didn't even have to line up. Plenty of people milling about and even a few in the canteen trying out the Swedish meatballs. Noticed they had a stack of untouched salads for sale. I've learnt people over here are very hesitant to eat uncooked greens so it's no surprise they weren't flying off the shelves.

The place was huge and on two levels. I was looking for the Swedish grocery section but ended up on the wrong level. Walked a few miles before eventually locating the the smallish grocery section. They had an OK selection of stuff including jams, gravalax, vodka, frozen meatballs and lots of chocolates and biscuits. Picked up some knackerbrod (rye bread). On the way out I realised they were playing Abba's "Rich Man's World" as background music. Very applicable, I thought, as this is where the new rich in Shenzhen are coming to shop.

As I left just before noon the crowds were starting to form. Noticed that the place shuts at 23:00PM and thought the best times to go would probably be the first and last hours, but never on a Sunday afternoon.