Happy Friday, High Tide Readers,
Iâm a freelance illustrator and cartoonist and itâs my honour to be âLeader of the Weekâ, not to be confused with a governmental position which would be âLeader of the Weakâ, given the current cabinet. Hey, just kidding!
Anyway, thereâs no such thing as a free lunch, so weâve managed to cajole Harbour Times into promoting my new book by way of payback.
Although I have all the prerequisite Twitter and Instagram accounts, I never get âround to using them, but Iâm a regular user of Facebook, so not completely living in the dark ages, but near enough.
â Harry Harrison
PSSST! You can get 10% off of Harryâs new book, Add Ink: Cartoon chronicles of life in Hong Kong with our code HARBOURTIMES10 â just use it at checkout!
SCMP does not pay us to share this code with you, nor will we make any commission if you do buy it â we just love Harryâs work and want to share the laughs!
News
They say âBetter the devil you knowâ. They're wrong, whoever âtheyâ are...
Taking a taxi in Hong Kong, who hasnât been loudly honked by an impatient bus driver? Rather than politically motivated intimidation, I think itâs probably just their way of warning you that you canât argue with an accelerating 26,500kg lump of metal on wheels.
Hong Kongâs PolyU has developed a cutting-edge camerato assist with Chinaâs Mars Rover mission. Having seen the footage, Iâm wondering how they got the camera up there ahead of the rover in order to film the landing or did the Martians send a camera crew? Whatever the answer, itâs a relief to know that Marsâ national security will now be protected.
AllRightsReserved, the company who brought us the large rubber duck and the papier-mache pandas, will not be bringing their latest installation, a 42-metre hot air balloon depicting Kawsâ Companion character, to Hong Kong. âItâs possible there are concerns that that much hot air would attract too many nominations for next yearâs Chief Executive âelectionââŠ
Never miss the latest on COVID-19 in Hong Kong with an annual subscription:
On another note:
Does anyone remember live music? Sadly, one casualty of the pandemic has been The Wanch, arguably Hong Kongâs best live music venue. There is talk of resurrection but in the meantime, you can relive classic moments from The Wanch and other Hong Kong venues by trawling the archives of Hong Kong Rocks, a site dedicated to our live music scene, past and future.
Visit
Anyone not currently under arrest or investigation might be interested in a meander (not march or assembly) around the police museum before it closes for refurbishment at the end of the month, hopefully not to eradicate all reference to their colonial heritage, or to install an interactive exhibit on excessive teargas usage.
Listen
Notable for its absence for the second year running is the Cantonese Opera on Lamma. Love it or hate it (I actually love it, although I usually struggle with the plot), it transforms the atmosphere of Yung Shue Wan for a few days and fills the main street with happy families and moaning, embittered gweilohs who prefer âdance musicâ. I spotted this on YouTube, which hopefully caters for both worlds:Â
Although itâs no substitute for the general festive air, the magical bamboo structure that rises from the football pitch, or the delicious barbecued dried squid brushed with chilli oil that they sell outside.
Read
Harry shares his secrets to success as a cartoonist, his thoughts on the future of political satire, and why we all just need to keep laughing.
Thatâs all folks! If you know someone who would make for a great Leader of the Week, send us a message.
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