Wishing you prosperity and wealth in the new year

Lakshmi, Goddess of Fortune



You've probably received this good luck chain mail.
"She is the goddess of capable personality, luxury, fertility, fortune, purity, beauty, power, generosity and auspiciousness, she fulfills prayers of material, wealth and contentment."

But I love the picture.
Om Sri Maha Lakshmyai Namah.

Listen to Rajesh Hardwani's Black Asia spaced out tunes to clean your house and receive her well.

Antonio Mak at the Hong Kong Museum of Art

For better reading condition listen to James Ting's Freaks Rendez-Vous.

Antonio Mak at the HK Museum of Art. I remember having seen his pieces at my friends' back in the 90's. Good crowd for a Sunday. It's great to see a local artist finally recognized, though posthumously.

Repulse Bay

For better reading condition of this little post, listen to my friend Jean-Michel Ou's hybrid chill Shanghai opera remixes, using recordings of his own grandmother's voice singing male parts.

It's a beautiful, crisp Sunday, so Louis and I decide to unplug at the beach.

The taxi driver asks for the beach number. He calls his friend in Mandarin for directions.

As we doze off a flock of Wenzhou decibels come screeching above our heads. Quick look. We're surrounded. Busloads of shopping manufacturers and medium company owners are invading the beach, their last stop before departure. Still they are in their Sunday best, and full of cheer, so bless 'em.

Repulsive Bay, originally uploaded by damesville.

By the way the concave building is to be torn down after years of battle between the land owners and the building group. I can't imagine it could have possibly further ruined the aesthetic of the Repulse Bay residential vista.
Or maybe there was never anything behind after all.

Video by Jean-Michel for the bus ride back to town:

Empty Castle

Iron Mic 2008 battle Hong Kong

Iron Mic 2008 battle Hong Kong, originally uploaded by damesville.

Spirits lifted when it was time for HK's Iron Mic battle at Cali Cali in TST, hosted by MC Yan.
Check out some of the videos, especially Fat B from Prosa in Guangzhou. (enjoy their banned video:
The Generation)

Check out also mad MastaMic's skills here.

It was good to see some sexiness from the groupies, and taller, bigger kids than before. Skinny scrawny dual focal nerds in cheapo anoraks slammed down their bigger opponents who had all the right threads and swagger.

The final pitted hk vs gz in fabulous freestyle cursing. However most of the HK hip hop scene was there that night, all 30 of them... The local music industry is lagging far behind. And so are the media.
Ham lam.

DJ Prepare's amazing jacket:

National Geographic HK pulls magazine covers over nudity scandal

My first day in HK this time I was told about the National Geographic cover scandal: Lucy had to be wrapped in plastic, as she "may offend and should not be distributed, sold or lent to a person under the age of 18 years".
I remember when I had first moved to HK the Obscene Articles Tribunal had banned a replica of Michelangelo's "David" in a building lobby (!) because David was naked.




All this really elicits in me is this "大佬你想點？" video by James Ting 異人問津舘:

Smelly harbour

Hong Kong harbour
Originally uploaded by damesville

The first thing that hit me in HK was my face stung and my throat clogged up with nasty drip the kind you don't want from bad charlie. The skin on my fingertips was pasty and sticky.

This is what your lungs sound like: Green Peace hk Air Truth mix by DJ Prepare, MC Yan and Yaz (福建音樂 Fu©Kin Music Mixtape Vol.11).

This is MC仁's video for Greenpeace:

Noise complaint at Makumba

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Originally uploaded by damesville

With Antony and Louis, at Makumba, the best bar in Hong Kong, for dancing to the best music, with a very unique cross section of non poseurs: disoriented Chinese kids, ABCs, "eurotrash", Indians, Africans and sundry.
Under the whip of shining beauties Amina and Jessica.

I've long dreamt of Asian music meeting afrobeat.
Till I find any, listen to DJ Zhao's wonderful mixes from Berlin, starting with NGOMA VOL. 1, which he describes as "next-level urban dance music from around the non-western world (...) like India, Cuba, Tanzania, Egypt, South Africa... 4 continents, 19 countries, ... styles include: Bongo Flava, Kizomba, Afro-Hiphop, Bhangra, Cumbia, Reggaeton, Dancehall, Rai, Arabic Pop, Balkan Beat, Genge, Kapuka, Kwaito, Jaija, Afro-House, Afro-Dub, Taraab, Gamelan."