Hiroki's Arrival

A young man named Hiroki has made me an Uncle today. Michiyo gave birth to a bushy headed 8 and a half pound boy this morning. True to his father's form, he arrived nearly 6 days late. The new family is doing well. Hiroki Skyler Fingerhut, welcome to the world. Congratulations Joe and Michiyo.

The Wire

'Some works of art can be so precious and intimate in their appeal that you just have to own them. That impulse is what fuels the art market and, on a less exalted level, it is what keeps music collectors searching for ever purer forms of recording. Art here becomes a private affair, something special between you and it, and the rest of the world can go hang.

But the opposite effect applies too. Some experiences are so great that you want to tell the whole world about them, so that they can share your joy. In fact you can't stop talking about them. I feel that way about The Wire , HBO's devastating police series that has just started its fifth and final season in the US.'

--Financial Times, January 12, 2008

(My view of The Wire lies somewhere between those perspectives, but the fact that I'm writing this shows I lean towards the latter...There are 4 or 5 paragraphs in the article that I think are written specifically for people like me, I recommend reading the whole thing...)

I tend to be pretty picky about what I watch on television. Prior to six months ago, I would say 90 percent of what I watched on TV was either sports or something on Discover/History channels. Joey and I got into The Sopranos while living in Japan. I think like most people, tv dramas shouldn't be edited for language and content and HBO has produced some pretty good stuff.

So when I arrived in Hong Kong six months ago, I decided (with the help of references from Bill Simmons' columns on ESPN.com) that I would get into the HBO series 'The Wire'. After much searching, one of the only places to get the series is at HMV, of which there are several around the city. If what I had heard about the series was true, then shelling out a bit for the legit collection would be a decent investment.

After devouring season 1, I moved on to season 2 then of course had no choice but to go all the way. I have purchased season 4 but will wait until I get back to the US to get into it. Everything I have read about the show contains almost nothing but superlatives. I find myself searching the web on any articles about the show, interviews with directors/producers or youtubing other material on its actors. I know that if I am ever in Baltimore, I know which streets I will google and drive down (probably in daylight).

So the first paragraph above pretty much explains why I went ahead and bought seasons 1 thru 4 (and 5 when it eventually comes out). I've contemplated selling the collection when complete, but now I've realized the episodes are just as good, if not better, the second or third time around. That, I think, is the mark of a dvd worth paying for.

Travels in January: The Philippines

A lot of my travels for work seem like they are to quite a few vacation destinations. Admittedly, I do my fair share of tourism and exploration in these places where I am working, but a lot of it is some pretty intense work.

So when I say I am going on vacation for two weeks, it seems like it more of the same frome me, some pictures from some places and some experiences, but it is a bit different. I get to do some full time tourism and do some things for more that just a couple hours in the evening after work.

When I flew back from two weeks of work in Bangkok, girlfriend Kristina had just arrived from St. Louis and we managed to meet the the sprawling Hong Kong airport. We spent the next few days around HK, doing a few tourist things including the Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastary, hit up an obscene amount of shopping malls and fun spots.

After this, we went to Macao and secured a suite at the Venetian for two nights. We briefly partook in what the casinos had to offer, but mostly checked out the sites around Macao and enjoyed some fine Portuguese/Asian cuisine.

From there is was back to Hong Kong and a flight to Manila, Philippines the next day. We arrived in Manila then commandeered a taxi to take us through the traffic to central Manila and a cheap hotel. We explored the surronding areas, including Manila Park and the Dr. Jose Rizal memorial and historic Intramuros. Before getting an amazing dinner at local favorite Aristocrat, we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset over Manila Bay.

The next day, it was off to the nearby island of Mindoro and where we stayed on Small Lalaguna beach off Sabang in Puerto Galera. The next four days, I did four scuba dives with Asia Divers which included my first wreck dives in the amazingly clear waters nearby. Kristina occupied her time with a couple dives herself along with some shopping and beach time. I also joined the Puerto Galera Hash House Harriers for a nice jaunt through the surrounding hills and a drink or two with the local pack. (Click on this to view all the photos. I've added more desciptions in the photos themselves.)

We also explored the surrounding beaches with a chartered boat, a chartered tricycle (motorcycle + sidecar) that took us to Tamaraw Falls, along with a couple Jeepney rides.

On the last day, we took the two hour longboat ride back to Batangas and then the two hour bus ride back into Manila for our evening flight back to HK.

We wrapped up vacation with more shopping, tourist stuff along with some visits to some of my favorite places around HK. Finally, Kristina was off and I was back to work (briefly) before the Chinese New Year holidays and an impending return to the US.

Expect a Hong Kong/Asia wrap up in the near future.

Travels in January: Thailand

During the month of January, I had the pleasure of spending over three weeks in the tropical environment of Southeast Asia.

My first trip took me to Bangkok for two weeks on business. While I didn't get to see much in Bangkok itself, I did have the opportunity to explore the ruins and sacred temples around Ayutthaya, about a 1.5 hour ride north of the city. I was grateful to have some local guides as well, a few of my trainees loaded me into a truck in braved the lawless roads and highways of Thailand for the trip.

We explored three main temples.
Wat Mahathat:

Wat Yai Chaimongkol:

Wat Phnan Choeng:


After two weeks of (mostly) work it was back to Hong Kong.

Philippines

After one day in Manila and five in Puerto Galera, back in a frigid Hong Kong. More pictures to come, but in the mean time, here is sunset over Manila Bay, with the Bataan Peninsula to the right.