Is what you hear what you get? -- From Nude Newsreader to American Idol

PCCW's adult television channel has launched the first nude news reading program in Hong Kong. This sexually yet not intellectually arousing technique of news reading was started in Russia and then popularized by Canada's nakednews.com.

The Hong Kong first nude newsreader, (attention, not anchor), Chan Long, who recently graduated from high school, sets her career objective as "to interest people in current affairs that might affect them, people who might otherwise not watch the news". She is apparently more devoted to the mission of journalism than I am.

As hypocritical as the statement sounds to me, I know I should not judge beyond her words. After all, she has to impress the press in order to stay in the press.

Both with seemingly positive attitude, I find the recently famed American idol Mr. William Hung's "self-defense" more genuine and convincing – "I gave my best, I have no regrets at all".

In contrast to nudity, William's icon is built on his Hawaiian shirt, the little Ed Grimley-style dance and his humble. His meteoric rise to fame is a reward granted out of the respect of thousands of people in the country. However, my sympathy’s below the average American's and have to look at this coverage with a cynical eye.

Frankly I have known a few people like William Hung, Steve and Chester for examples. I could totally see them on stage, singing and dancing exactly like William Hung, and saying the same humble words in the face of relentless remark. I mean, for a person who is not a star bornabe but wannabe, what else could he have said after being dressed down?

I am not trying to judge Mr. Hung from his unappealing appearance, nor from his ungifted dancing steps and his confusing engineer-singer philosophy said at the interview before the audition. Rather, I am trying to comment on of the literally open-jaw cultures within the continent of the Big Eagle – heroism.

William Hung is made not only an idol, but also a hero. Women aged from fifteen to fifty love his baby Asian face. According to them, he is courage, humble, generous, passionate(?) and romantic(??). Maybe nowadays, the society really lacks people who are courageous enough to put their bad traits on the table. Some say he presents the American dream, which is part of the irony too.

Behind the smoky screen, there always comes the cruel reality. Whether this frenzy is stirred out of idealization of human sympathy is yet a question to be answered. The US, as a super power, has been fond of combating the evil axis, especially for the vulnerable. The country's mentality has apparently transferred to its people as well. As such, when Berkeley Ricky Martin, degraded by the insulting remarks made by the audition judge Simon Cowell and thus portrayed vulnerable under the camera, he won many hearts from the audience.

The reality, however, is that audience's sympathy does not give one charisma and does not turn one into a star. I have a feeling that the drama will not last long.

William Hung looks quite different in this picture, quite good lucking actually.

愛國潮中的另類領悟

一眾政客「暢詠」於愛國熱潮之中，行政會議成員梁振英亦翻起一波，硬要立法會議員劉慧卿也穿上游泳衣，秀一秀她動作比大腦要快的身手。

昨晚劉小姐罕有地在三家新聞台均有曝光，有線的我沒有看，只看了無料的兩台。亞視的新聞導言說「劉慧卿說她並不支持台獨」，讓我有點訝異，訝異群眾力量終於讓頑石點頭。半句鐘之後，我聽到了無線天壤之別的導言版本——「劉慧卿表示如果台灣人民選擇獨立，她亦會支持」。這故事再次彰顯了傳媒對公眾perception的影響力量。劉小姐和前綫的立場我當然清楚，新聞中所播的sound bites亦証明以上都是出自劉小姐之口，兩台的記者並沒有捏造故事，但如此用斷章取義以加強爭議性的手法去撰述導言，實非專業的表示，在本港亦並非鮮事。

虛偽的政客！搧情的傳媒！我還是在對岸觀看你們弄潮算了，免得被鹹水沾濕。

"Something's Gotta Give"

Before entering the theatre, I didn't know what "Something's Gotta Give" was about, except from what I saw in the trailer in RoadShow. I was given two comments before the viewing, one was from the secretary in my office, who is 28, I think, and said "I was a bit disappointed on the movie because there's so little Keanu Reeves in it", and the other was from my friend who only told me "it's very good". As I'm not a fan of Mr. Reeves, I decided to support the respectable casts Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton.

The movie turned out to be an unexpected prize for me tonight.

It is a love comedy that floods out messages about life those give you not only laughs but also tears. A movie's success bets on the 'click' with audience. It reaches to you and touches your heart. The script utilizes witty dialogues to turn life ironies into jokes. The comic skill of the light-touch pros is also undeniable.


I especially appreciate the scene on Harry (Nicholson) and Erica (Keaton)'s cyber reunion after Erica went back to Hampton with a broken heart, witnessing Harry's old prided habit of dating younger women. Imagine the two stars at their sixties, not being customized to the new technology, but are acting out the emotions I have come across a million times so vividly in front of the computers. It's the moment when one is deliberating whether it is appropriate to type the words on the keyboard – I miss you – and on the other end, the person stares at the monitor anxiously, waiting to see what the ex-lover has to say. The anxiety makes a second overwhelmingly long and to a point where the person cannot bear anymore so decides to end the conversation by lying out "actually I have to run". And right at the moment the dialogue box disappears, the devastating disappointment dives in. Erica bursts into tears.

It's a little sad to see myself actually identifying to a woman who's at 'the upper female quadrant' or, as being dubbed as 'woman at your age' in the movie. I thought having that identification to the 30-year-olds in "Sex and the City" was bad enough.

Here're the few lessons I re-learnt from "Something's Gotta Give":

· Do not be afraid to feel heart broken, because only from that you know you have lived. The important thing is you learn from the trauma.
· Being strong doesn't mean you cannot cry, but as soon as you dry your tears, move on and face the new phase of life.
· When you feel heart broken, turn the pain into your favor and live on beautifully.
· You can find yourself only by facing your past with courage.
· Love is special when you find someone who knows how to appreciate you, someone who touches your soul.
· Beauty comes in with confidence.
· Women grow smarter with age, but men are too afraid of that. Especially in the case of the younger males here in my place, they like to go for air-headed females. A lot of times, long legged ostriches.

「女強人」

我對「女強人」一詞並不反感，不像許多女性一樣覺得這稱呼帶有性別歧視。但老實說，今天廿一世紀的社會確實還存在不少「女強人通常都婚姻失敗」的思想。

我一直對「女強人」的夫妻相處之道很好奇。像前政務司司長陳方安生 —— 雖然四萬口，但也紿終是一位領導整個政府運作的人物；又或我「老細」 —— 不論對男對女整天都兇巴巴的 —— 她們回到家以後對丈夫究竟是甚麼模樣的，是否又是處處立場強硬？

今天我和司機一道去灣仔辦公事，就趁這機會提出抑壓在心裡良久的疑問：

「究竟她和潘先生是怎樣相處的？聽說潘先生的脾氣比她更急和暴躁！」

「她最怕的人就是潘先生，潘先生一發脾氣，她就閉嘴了！」

「啊？？？真難以想像。那她會嗲潘先生嗎？」

「當然囉！」

震撼驚嚇之餘，卻是一陣慨嘆。難道無論女人在外面多強，回到家還是有作男人的小鳥，才會有美滿的婚姻？

像劉嘉玲在《無間道II》裡說的：「男人好的話，我做甚麼都可以。」

我想，除非那女人要靠男人，或是那男人好得值得，否則也休想女人要為男人改變！

幾米

人不是魚，怎會了解魚的憂愁。
魚不是鳥，怎會了解鳥的快樂。
鳥不是人，怎會了解人的荒唐。
人不是鳥，怎會了解鳥的自由。　
鳥不是魚，怎會了解魚的深沉。
魚不是人，怎會了解人的幼稚。　　
你不是我，怎會了解我。