Episode 1500: Down To 30...

Number of unwatched episodes is down to 30, so in theory, I could watch them all within one day, provided I did practically nothing else, including sleeping. Problem is, I've also been feeling like I'm about to fall sick all day, and I definitely have a headache right now. Manned up though, and formatted all the submissions I accepted while I was in Hong Kong, so Eunoia Review now has work queued till late March. If the queue gets a few months longer, I might have to switch to publishing thrice daily, maybe even four times. Don't have any issues with that, although if it does get to that point, I do wonder if the journal might be moving too far from its original intention of being something people can dip into daily for a bite-sized (or sometimes rather large) chunk of reading. Maybe it'd be better to temporarily close submissions, purely to trim the publication 'backlog'. I definitely need to spend November clearing my reviews backlog though. Have to do a bit of shuffling in regards to what order I'm going to review stuff in, but November is definitely the month to start catching up. No leisure reading even, not until I've done at least two reviews.

Episode 1499: 36 Episodes (And Counting) To Catch Up On!

That's how many episode of TV I have waiting for me to get through them. Would've been more, except some of the networks aired repeats instead of originals because of Hurricane Sandy. Watched the Total Recall remake on my flight home. It manages to try too hard (heavy-handed political allegory, check; pseudo-philosophical mumbo jumbo, check) and to not try at all (gratuitously shirtless Colin Farrell, check; Kate Beckinsale in underwear, check). Anyway, I came back from my holiday to my contributor's copy of Unthology No. 3 and a copy of Mark Z. Danielewski's The Fifty Year Sword. Really excited to be a part of the Unthology series, which you can pick up here, here, and here. Wish I could be at the launch during the UnLit Festival! Have also been waiting for a long time to get my hands on Danielewski's book, which had previously only been released in English twice, in limited runs of 1000 copies. Like his previous books, this one is gorgeously produced, with a textured orange cover that looks like someone stabbed it loads of times with a pen. Or the tip of a sword.

Episode 1498: Yumcha At Last!

So on our last full day in Hong Kong, we finally went to yumcha at Maxim's Palace in City Hall. (We actually ended up in Maxim's Café by mistake at first. It's part of the same company, but one floor down and serving Western instead.) I'm a big fan of dimsum, but it's not that common to find places in Singapore that serve it pushcarts anymore. I'm sure there must still be places that do, but I reckon it's a concept that's ripe for wider revival. Nostalgia, packaging a tourism experience, etc. (Get on this, someone in STB!) Also, I suspect ordering off a pushcart actually induces people to eat more than they would compared to ordering off a menu. Some sort of psychology thing, yes? On a related note, I hope I haven't put on too much weight over the past few days. I don't think I should have anyway, as I haven't exactly been indulging more than usual. Fingers crossed! Haven't got much reading done either, so there goes my good intentions about trying to make some headway with my reviewing while on holiday. Maybe if I attacked the to-do pile like I did my dissertation, i.e. with erratic meal times, I might get something done and lose some weight in the process.

Episode 1497: Cheung Chau

Cheung Chau today, which basically involved a lot of walking, in footwear that was patently unsuitable. Couldn't be helped though, as I've already got rid of almost all my shoes, meaning that the pair I wore to come to Hong Kong is the closest thing I have to walking shoes at the moment. Anyway, another place ticked off 'the list'. (I don't actually have one, I just imagine that's the sort of thing I'm supposed to say.) Now I know what those TVB shows mean when the characters go to Cheung Chau for a getaway. It's sort of like what East Coast Park or Sentosa are to Singaporeans, I guess, except on a larger scale. Anyway, I'm thinking it's time to buy lots of new stuff, especially if there are any Christmas sales. Shoes, clothes, bag, laptop, the works. All in preparation for entering NIE, of course! The laptop is a definite must, I just haven't decided what I want to get yet. Was leaning towards a MacBook for a while, but to be honest, I only want one because it's cool. Except too many people have MacBooks these days, so it's not actually all that cool anymore. Right? Might just be boring and go with a Dell again, to be honest, but on the other hand, it's kind of tempting to complete my Apple gadget set, just for the heck of it. (If you're reading this, Phil How, yes, my inner hipster wants a MacBook but I'll probably run Windows on it too.)

Episode 1496: Stanley

Today, we headed to Stanley, in the Southern District, and had lunch at Saigon at Stanley, a Vietnamese restaurant. Had soft shell crab in this yellow curry, with bits of egg in it. Quite delightful. Stanley's also a really scenic area, so I managed to get some good pictures. Bought an interesting card game in a Stanley Plaza shop, Goods of Desire, which purports to teach players a bit of Cantonese, although it's only actually useful if you're ordering dimsum! Was slightly less impressed by Stanley Market, which didn't really seem all that different from other street markets that I've been to in other countries. On the other hand, I remain appreciative of how easy it is to find free WiFi in Hong Kong. I know Singapore's got Wireless@SG, but it's such a hassle logging onto that, whereas most of the free WiFi networks that I've accessed here have been one-touch login affairs. Still, even the inconvenience of Wireless@SG is superior to the comparative absence of free WiFi in the UK. What's up with that anyway? I'm pretty sure the free Virgin WiFi on the Tube is a relatively recent introduction, right? Have been making some progress with my books, by which I mean I'm reading a few pages of The Salt Book Of Younger Poets each day. It seems I was, as usual, wildly optimistic about doing my reviews.

Episode 1495: Macau

Turns out it was Yong Long I saw yesterday. Saw his pictures on Facebook Anyway, we spent today in Macau. It was a tour, so that saved the hassle of trying to work out how to get about the place. Honestly though, I'm not convinced there's all that much more to Macau than the gambling. Still, there's a certain vulgar beauty to the casinos' opulence, isn't there? Is this where Singapore is headed, now that we have our integrated resorts? Hopefully not! Added some new music to my iPod before I came over to Hong Kong, which is all I've been listening to for the past couple of days. One of the albums is Taylor Swift's Red, apparently her poppiest yet. I've never been a huge fan of hers, but I'd say that's about right as an album assessment. It's your standard radio-friendly stuff, with the occasional country inflection. More interesting are Aiden Grimshaw's Misty Eye and Jamie Woon's Mirrorwriting. Both are clearly pop music records, but musically they feel quite refreshing compared to the sounds that tend to dominate the airwaves these days. Purists of the genres they borrow from will probably disapprove though. I've also been listening to Lawson's Chapman Square, which is a solid radio-ready pop record like Swift's. Boybands definitely seem to be experiencing a resurgence this decade, but even though the four Lawson members are predictably ludicrously photogenic, musically they're actually slightly closer to the jangly guitar pop of Kris Allen, rather than One Direction, or even The Wanted.

Episode 1494: Lantau Island

Spent the day on Lantau Island, mostly at the Ngong Ping 360 tourist attraction. It's a cable car ride from Tung Chung MTR to the Ngong Ping Village, which is a pretty shamelessly touristic place. We were on a sort of package tour that also took us to the fishing village at Tai O, which has been called the Venice of Hong Kong. That was a more interesting place because it doesn't yet seem to have been completely colonised by tourism, although the signs are there. Not a lot to see though, unless you're really fascinated by fishing, I guess? Then it was back to Ngong Ping for a visit to the Po Lin Monastery, where I swear I saw Yong Long walk past me. (Think I saw him again later in Citygates Outlets, on the way back to the hotel.) Anyway, after being out nearly the whole day with my parents, I've realised that we have very different travel philosophies. I like travelling but hate tourism and how it implies that destinations can be packaged and consumed like goods, whereas my parents are quite happy to embrace their status as 'tourists', in the sense that they can be quite wide-eyed, especially when it comes to things like navigating public transport or the streets. It can get a bit trying at times, as you can imagine.

Episode 1493: Hong Kong!

Only had the time to watch one movie during the flight to Hong Kong, 38 Témoins. It was okay, but I thought what it had to say about human nature was fairly trite, and I didn't actually care about the central relationship of the film, so it didn't seem that big a deal when it abruptly ended. Anyway, it turns out that the hotel we're staying at is the same hotel we stayed at the last time we were in Hong Kong, about six years ago. Biggest change? There's a WiFi hotspot right outside the hotel now, so as long as I don't mind sitting outside and occasionally breathing in cigarette smoke, my digital life can still go on, more or less. Am trying my best to be patient while travelling alone with my parents, which I've never done before, except the couple of days when they came to the UK for my graduation last year. This time it's a whole week though. We're also not travelling on any fixed itinerary, which has pros and cons, I guess. Will be nice to go to places that I've never been to though, like the outlying islands. Also, it's just struck me how odd it is that Hong Kong-style eateries are actually not as casual affairs in Singapore as they clearly are here. Had dinner in one earlier, and it was like being in one of those roadside scenes that I watch on TVB shows now and then.

Episode 1492: Holiday Packing!

Am bringing some stuff with me to Hong Kong that I need to read for reviewing purposes, but I'm also bringing some leisure reading. Have been trying to decide between Jesse Ball and Alex Preston, but since my Facebook friends have been deliberately unhelpful and none of my Twitter followers replied, I told Shirley on WhatsApp to just pick a name. So Preston it is! Taking both This Bleeding City and The Revelations along, since I expect to get through them pretty quickly, assuming they're page-turning reads like all the blurbs say. Now I'm all packed for my trip to Hong Kong with my parents! Apparently, it should be relatively easy to find free WiFi hotspots in Hong Kong, and there's one company's network that I can supposedly get onto with a 60-day free trial, so I'm hoping that I won't be entirely disconnected from digital civilisation while I'm gone. Have managed to read the chapbook that I've been asked to provide a blurb for, so all I need is to come up with a sentence or two before going to bed. Then I just need to reply to one more submission for The Cadaverine, and I'll be good to go on holiday (except for that list of pending reviews).

Episode 1491: A Tale Of Two Comedies

So Season 3 of Happy Endings has premiered and I'm so glad it's back. For me, it's the best comedy on air after Community, with the added plus that unlike NBC, ABC typically doesn't mess around when it comes to airing new episodes. Happy Endings started off as a bit of an underdog, a mid-season show that looked like it was being burnt off, two episodes at a time. Somehow, someone thought to give it another season, and it settled into its skin as a quirky relationship sitcom that was really more about a close-knit group of friends, the only one to actually survive from 2011's crop, I believe. Honestly though, I doubt the ratings will be spectacular this year, given how most shows have been performing across the board, but who knows? Maybe ABC will lower its expectations enough to renew this for yet another season, even though that still wouldn't give the show enough episodes to be sold into syndication. A syndication deal might not mean much though. Community, which has already been sold into syndication on Comedy Central, despite how it'll fall short of the conventional 88-episode threshold if NBC declines to pick up the back nine for this season, is still being treated like an unwanted stepchild. What I would like to know is whether Comedy Central could actually afford to rescue the show when NBC cancels it. (Let's be realistic, NBC is almost certainly going to kick the show to the kerb after this year, barring a ratings miracle on the scale of what Revolution has been blessed with so far.)