Another "what I've been up to lately" report

From two Sundays ago: proof of there actually being
sunny clear air days in Hong Kong
when bright blue skies can be glimpsed! :)

From last Sunday:
George Lam and Teresa Carpio in concert

Before anything else, yes, I've been continuing to work hard and play hard. As far as work is concerned, last week was the most tiring one yet; what with my not leaving the office on Thursday until around 11 p.m., Friday's work day going on until around 3 a.m. (yes, you really read that right!) and after returning to the office around 10:30 a.m. later on Saturday, having that work day not end until around 4 p.m. :(

So I actually felt rather relieved that unlike my previous few Saturdays, I wasn't scheduled to go out that evening...and, instead, was "only" booked to go out on Sunday evening. More specifically, this past Sunday evening was reserved for attending what turned out to be a three hour long concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

Headlined by veteran entertainers George Lam -- husband of Sally Yeh; star of movies like All the Wrong Clues (1981) and All the Wrong Spies (1983); and a songster whose warblings can be heard on cinematic offerings as diverse as the farcical The Thirty Million (Dollar) Rush (1987), martial arts classic Once Upon a Time in China (1991) and the romantic Anna Magdalena (1998) -- and Teresa Carpio (whose most recent Hong Kong movie appearance was as Lawrence Chou's character's mother in Truth or Dare: Sixth Floor Rear Flat (2003)), it wasn't one which I'd deem to be a classic as far as musical quality is concerned. For truth be told, Lam and Teresa -- as their fans refer to them -- are somewhat long in the tooth, and show it.

At the same time, I'm not going to deny that it was enjoyable and...interesting in its own way. After all, it's not every day that one gets to see a grown man hugging a stuffed frog and singing to it (as George Lam -- who I got the impression is known in some quarters as the Frog Prince! -- did at one point during the event!). Or that the choice of guest star for a concert gets revealed to be Lowell Lo, a composer and singer as well as actor who I first spied when viewing Magnificent Warriors (1988) and, consequently, have thought looked kind of funny. And that a musical event's guest star would take it upon himself to deliver a serious lecture -- with slides and all -- on global warming as part of his star turn!!

In retrospect, I should have expected some more surrealism during an evening that also included my spotting Natalis Chan (whose most famous film moment may well have come when he served as Stephen Chow's human paintbrush in Flirting Scholar (1993)) among the crowd at the concert. And this all the more so when on the way to the concert (more precisely, when I was in the MTR station nearest my Hong Kong abode), who should I spot walking past me, with shopping bags in each hand, but -- I really kid you not! -- Bobby Yip, a character actor who is most famous for being -- sorry, there's no way to put this nicely -- ugly! And when I assure you that he looks in the flesh pretty much exactly like how he appears in the movies... ;D

All in all, I think you'll get a good idea of how eventful as well as just plain full my life in Hong Kong is when I assure you that this past weekend may actually have been the quietest weekend I've had since arriving in the Fragrant Harbour back on May 1.

Still, for those who need some evidence, here's reporting that the weekend before that saw me doing such as attending the modern dance extravaganza entitled Awakening on Saturday and then spending a big chunk of time on Sunday -- which, more than by the way, was one of those precious sunny and clear days that Hong Kong still can have, though not as much as most people would like -- at the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence (which doesn't only have interesting exhibits to boast of but also magnificent views from its historic Redoubt and the surrounding area). And that the Thursday evening before it saw me attending an immensely entertaining multi-media performance entitled Anatomy-Anomaly over at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts.

As for movie viewing and reviewing: Interested parties might wish to note that my reviews of Gong Tau,Whispers and Moans and Single Blog are among those up and available to be read over here. Also, that by the later part of this week, so too should my reviews of three other Hong Kong films and a French movie that I've recently checked out -- together with some other articles, including an interview with a new director to whose face I confessed that I've actually viewed twenty-three out of the twenty-five cinematic works that he's scripted to date and another interview, this time with an individual who -- despite her not being a professional actress -- was among the star names who appeared in McDull: The Alumni (2006)! ;b