It’s no secret that Lip Service is just about my favourite brand of clothing, when I can afford it. Pictured here is the Gangsta Pranksta ‘Anita’ jacket, only the latest in the Lip Service line that has me drooling.
I forget when it was that I discovered their website, but you won’t believe how it’s improved and changed over the years. They used to accept Singapore credit cards, but they stopped doing that a while ago (their Webkitten told me it was because there were too many fraudulent purchases).
So I shall lust from afar. Lip Service, I loved thee well.
That is the sound panda bear cubs make when they fight and are crying ‘uncle’. This morning, we visited the Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding. One of the perks of this trip is the occasional times we have ‘off’ (I’m never off, especially when the models are) — we get to do some sightseeing.
We’ve got a show tonight. That’ll be three down, three to go.
I think it would be great if Neil organised a kung fu movie marathon at our place while I’m away. He’s just purchased Game of Death on DVD.
Drunken Master was my absolute favourite kung fu movie as a child; my grandfather recorded it off the teevee way back when. I’ve never forgotten it, it made that much of an impression. I’ve never seen Once Upon a Time in China, but I hear Jet Li is very good when he doesn’t have to speak English (he’d better be, because he was worse than atrocious in Cradle 2 the Grave). This series was all the rage in Singapore.
Greetings from Chongqing. True to form, the weather is unusually rainy. This means extra humidity. There’s a general interest among myself and some of the models to see the Three Gorges Dam, but it’s too damn (sorry) far away for a quick visit. All the cool stuff is too far away from the city centre.
I’ve experienced (vicariously) the fashion world’s embrace of sex, drugs, money, and the mafia. Models, Inc. was true to life, darling.
I’m surprised and pleased to see the (very skinny) female models eating healthily, eschewing dieting for exercise and good food.
One model said to me, “I used to have hair like yours… it was a wig.” It doesn’t help that when these twentysomething girls are in their four-inch heels, they tower over me and the top of my head reaches their bosom.
It’s been a tiring few days. 11 days to go. One show down, one show tonight, more shows waiting in the wings. The Internet access at the business centre costs 20RMB per 30 minutes.
The kittens that were born on the other side of the apartment complex:
In other pet news, some friends are picking up their new puppy. It turns out that another friend’s dog, Billy, is a studly spaniel, and has been marked for extensive nookie.
Wilbur (wants to kill himself) appears to be a film you either love or hate, if the IMDB entry is anything to go by. The absolutely funniest bad review came from someone who claimed the Scottish accents in the film were far too thick — they had very mild accents, and I have the Scottish friends to prove it.
I enjoyed the film. It was sad, it was darkly comic. And yes, the lead character bears an uncanny physical resemblance to Robbie Williams. The person who really tugged at the heartstrings, in my humble opinion, was Harbour North, Wilbur’s older brother. He was so sweet and fragile in his love for his family, his need to protect them all even when he was far from being able to.
If you enjoy films that are a little different, Wilbur (wants to kill himself) is worth watching.
You’d think a spy for the Iraqi Intelligence Service, awaiting orders from his handlers while undercover in the United States, would have noticed that his President had been deposed over a year ago, and taken steps to ensure he would not be discovered (read: left).
This alleged intelligence agent doesn’t seem so intelligent to me.
I don’t really know what kind of plane I’ll be on this morning, but I will be travelling a lot on domestic airlines and coaches over the next two weeks. Being more than aware of the age of the planes and driving skills of mainland Chinese, I hope those of you who pray spend hours on your knees with your head bowed for my safety during this fortnight. For those who aren’t into that new age-y thing called organised religion, consume as many beers as you think I would over two weekends but for the fact that I’m working.
I hope to be able to check my e-mail. I’ve scheduled some posts to appear while I am away, and I will try to update with trip reports (oh happy day, I’m sure we all wait with bated breath) with any free time I may have. Yes, I have my camera with me.
And no, Neil is not allowed to post entries because he’s too cheeky and will write about farts and poop (not that I won’t, but I’m not as proud of it as he is). I haven’t trained him well enough yet.
I noticed this image on the Yahoo! main page — how could you not, I suppose, it takes up some valuable real estate. It’s for Yahoo! Small Business services and the oh-so-cute images tempting us to purchase our own domain name brought out my smartarse side.
The football player: IWillSellMySoulForASportingScholarship.com
While I was in that printing factory in Shenzhen, we were shown the company’s ‘library’ — the place where they keep spare copies of all their publications.
“Take whatever you like,” the sales manager encouraged as she walked out and left us to ourselves.
“Once again, the Bush administration failed to stand up for American companies and workers at the WTO, and as a result, unfair trade practices are hurting our economy and middle class families,” Kerry said in a statement.
The sharp criticism followed the WTO’s decision to allow the European Union, Japan, Canada, Brazil, India, Mexico, Chile and South Korea to impose duties on American exports because of the United States failure to repeal the so-called “Byrd amendment,” which has previously been declared illegal under international trade rules.
The program distributes funds raised by U.S. anti-dumping and other duties on imported goods to companies that asked for the protection against unfair trade. Previously, that money went into the general treasury. Critics say the provision encourages companies to file more anti-dumping cases.
Bloody politics. Other countries surely want to protect their own industries just as the US does. No country is truly for fair trade — if the WTO didn’t exist, all countries would selectively add tariffs and subsidise domestic producers, leading to complete madness. Imperfect as the WTO is, it’s there to make sure all countries have a fair go.
John Kerry is just trying to score cheap political points (not that I’m surprised). The US is just as guilty of engaging in unfair trade practice, but anything for more votes, eh?
It’s no secret that Lip Service is just about my favourite brand of clothing, when I can afford it. Pictured here is the Gangsta Pranksta ‘Anita’ jacket, only the latest in the Lip Service line that has me drooling.
I noticed this image on the Yahoo! main page — how could you not, I suppose, it takes up some valuable real estate. It’s for 
