Apple, iPod and China

Last week, there was a lot of hub-bub in the Western media about how Apple's iPods are manufactured in horrendous slave-like conditions in Shenzen, China. To summarize a typical report: The average Chinese worker making an iPod in Shenzen makes about $50 USD a week and is forced to pay for housing provided by the factory. The conclusion and spirit of a CNN report was made in an interview of a Western economics analyst who said something to the affect of, "No wonder why they can manufacture things so much cheaper than anyone else. They don't pay fair wages!"

While I was living in the U.S. I would probably brush it off as typical bad Chinese behaviour and think, "How horrible the Chinese businesses and governments are to allow such exploitation." So now that I live here, do I think any differently? Maybe not entirely. But I do have another perspective now.

Shenzen is just across the border from Hong Kong. It's less than a half hour train ride from the university. I've been there once, but know people who live and visit it quite often. Shenzen is known to be a cheap city to eat, drink and shop in. $50 USD a week comes out to almost $1,600 RMB a month. I asked one of my co-workeres in HK about that rate and she said that sounds about the market rate for a factory worker in Shenzen. Is that a liveable wage in a city like Shenzen? I'm really not sure. But I do know the cost of living in Shenzen is significantly less than HK. For example, in a previous blog entry I wrote about how I had a huge meal, more than enough for 3 people, at a pretty nice Shenzen restaurant for $6 USD!

Now, I do believe those factory workers could be paid more and could probably be treated better. But the tone and implied conclusion of these reports irked me. On one hand the Western media and industry talk about the low and sometimes unfair Chinese wages and industry. On the other hand, I know how Western companies pressure Chinese companies to keep wages low. In fact, I've experienced this several times myself when bidding on Western contracts. When I quote a fair price far below Western rates, some Western companies often ask for even lower "Chinese prices."

So which is it? Raise Chinese wages or keep them low? At the university, I lecture on visual FX and animation, not economics. So I don't even pretend to know the answers. But I do know Apple isn't the only big Western company taking advantage of Chinese labor and the people here are trying to make a living and grow their industries. Things are a lot more complicated than the West often paints things. From my perspective, the tone and hypocrisy of the contradicting messages from the West can sometimes be more than a little frustrating!

The Bunker

Before I was foolishly distracted by this stupid Mentos/Coke thing, I was planning to write about my experience this past Monday evening. What was so special about Monday? Late last week, Nury invited me to a dinner event which he described as a 'speaking gig' with 'powerful people.' This event took place Monday night.

Dinner was held at an old WWII bunker that has been converted into a 'living museum.' Before dinner began, a British expat gave us a brief history of this remarkable location. He told us we were in one of dozens of underground bunkers linked by a series of tunnels. These bunkers played a crucial role in the defense of HK during WWII. So when we toasted those who gave their lives using these bunkers in defense of HK, I felt a sense of gravitas and gratitude.

The rest of the evening was much more light and celebratory. I was indeed dining with some powerful people, as this event was for one of the world's largest and most influential PR agencies. The CEO was a gracious and affable host. He introduced Nury, who then proceeded to entertain the group with an entertaining and funny talk on the topic of creativity. As the CEO and Nury fired off joke after joke, I couldn't help but feel a little intimidated at the tough act I had to follow.

When Nury introduced me, I swallowed the nervous lump in my throat and began to speak. I can't pinpoint the exact moment in my life I became comfortable with public speaking, but I was quite thankful that I was that night. For despite being a little intimidated by following two great public speakers and being in a room of professionals who shape the public face of the world's largest organizations, I felt quite in my element. My talk appeared to be well received as I got a few compliments and pats on my back as I made my way back to to my table.

So there you have it. My first non-Mentos/Coke post in 3 days!

Mentos & Coke Laughing to Bank!

OK, I've got my answer: According to ABC News, Mentos and Coke are laughing all the way to the bank with all this free publicity. There are at this point over 800 videos on the Internet of people doing this home brew experiment.

They had a scientist on the show to explain a few things:

* The large and uneven surface of a Mentos means more bubbles
* Diet sodas generally have more CO2 than normal sodas

That is among the several reasons this works. Oh and before I forget:

If you actually drink a diet Coke and have Mentos, you will not explode. But you will probably vomit. I haven't seen (nor do I want to see) this on the Internet, but I imagine someone's done this.

If this shows anything to me it demonstrates the power and phenomenon of YouTube.

OK, I think I'm really done with this topic now. Tune in next time for a dose of a non Mentos/Coke blog entry...

Ultimate Mentos & Diet Coke?

There's been this buzz over the urban myth of Diet Coke and Mentos that is quite literally exploding and reaching critical mass. I just heard it mentioned in a CNN segment on YoutTube, which means it's now officially crossed over from Internet phenom into mainstream media.

I've read and heard about the buzz, but hadn't actually seen it. So I hopped over to Google video and found this clip:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1450915772177922792

Hmmm... looks like it isn't a myth. But that's merely one person. It could be faked. So I hopped over to YouTube and found a whole bunch of clips here:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search=mentos+diet+coke&search_type=search_videos&search=Search

Take your pick. But several people have pretty much proved that it's true: Mentos and Diet Coke are and explosive combo!

Still not satisfied? Well here's a Pepsi variation of the theme:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8694244338798619086

And then finally, I don't think anything could top this one. (Feel free to prove me wrong) If you've seen the Bellagio fountain in Vegas, then you might think that this might give it a run for it's money:

http://eepybird.com/dcm1.html

So of course, all this linkxploration leads to a few mind boggling questions:

1) Is this good advertisement and PR for Coke, Pepsi or Mentos?
2) How would you deal with this if you were doing PR for Coke, Pepsi or Mentos?
3) Having seen what you've seen, would you drink a Diet Coke and have a few Mentos?
4) How many more variations of the theme will emerge (Pop Rocks & Coke anyone?) or has this phenom hit critical mass and will be so 5 minutes ago in 5 minutes?

OK, I've waisted enough brain cells on this inane topic. What silly times we live in.

Am I a Blog Addict?

I'm really getting into this blog thing. Did I just write a silly and obvious sentence in my own blog? Possibly. Especially if I were writing about my own blog. But I'm not.

A couple of recent incidents sparked a desire to seek out and add as many friend's blogs to my bookmarks as I could. The result is a five fold increase in my bookmarked blogs. So strong was my calling, that my quest even led me to add a list 'o blog links to my blog. Don't worry, if you told me your blog is private or even semi-private, it won't be listed here. In the meantime, here's a quick run down of some blogs I frequent:

The Curious Diary of Mr. Jam
This is my colleague, Nury Vittachi's blog. Being HK's best selling English language novelist, Nury's a bit of a celebrity. I find his insights to life in HK and Asia to be well written and a pleasure to read.


Patrick James Coston Asian Adventures
My friend Pat obsessively documents everything in his personal Website and was even once interviewed by the New York Times Magazine about his obsession. He met his wife online and currently resides with her in Malaysia. This blog focuses exclusively on his experiences of living in a remote island in Malaysia.

Hey Christine!
Christine's been writing online diaries way before the term blog existed. Between Oriented, the organization she founded, and the longevity of her online chronicles, she has amassed quite an online following. She's also a bit of an evangelist for promoting yourself online and has convinced several of her friends (including yours truly) to blog.

Card Carrying Member
This blog belongs to a dear friend whom I've known since I was 8 years old. He currently is a an economics professor at the University of Maryland. This blog is filled with insights and comments from the left side of American politics. I can always count on Jonah's blog to give me some hardcore insights into what's really going on in the US.

Ask Chuck Hillig
I recently met Chuck in Malaysia through my boss, Gino. He and Gino met online and really hit it off when they met in Kuala Lumpur. Chuck has published 5 books on enlightenment and keeps a pretty detailed blog about his life as a retired psychotherapist.

So there you have it. With so many friends who keep such interesting blogs, I'm feeling a bit addicted to following their latest musings.

Back in the Swing of Things

It is less than 24 hours after my return to Hong Kong from my trip to Malaysia, when I found myself in this strange field pictured to the left. Was I abducted? Did I get lost? Or was it all part of some sick, crazy delusional sleep walk? OK, let's tackle these questions one at a time:

1) Was I abducted? I was taken for a ride in a white van to this undisclosed location. But it was voluntary. So I'll have to say, "no, I wasn't abducted."

2) Did I get Lost? I had a vague idea where this van took me. But I certainly couldn't have gotten there myself. So I'll answer, "Yes, I was lost. But it wasn't my doing."

3) Was it some sick, crazy delusional sleep walk? Hmmm... I didn't leave that field until sometime after midnight. So I was in a dazed, near sleep walk state. But I'll answer, "no, it was not a delusional sleep walk."

Still haven't the foggiest where I was? That's ok, I wasn't exactly sure either, but I wasn't scared or nervous. I was rather excited because I was on location for a shoot on the first commercial HK film for which I'm serving as VFX Supervisor. I saw the entire principal cast in action. I was originally going to oversee two shots, but the director cut the FX from the scene with the lead actor and actress. So I was there for hours only to supervise one shot. I probably went overkill in terms of documenting the set. But if I was going to be on location for hours, I was going to make the most of that one shot. Besides, the director said this shot is a crucial part of the film, so that's why I played it coonservatively and recorded as much as I could.

For rather obvious reasons, I'm not going to write any specifics about this film. But here's a quick list of non-specific highlights that shouldn't get me in trouble:

* It is starring a well known and respected HK male star.
* The DP was really experienced and seemed to be getting some great shots.
* The DP and producer were very nice and supportive of my colleague and me.
* It rained on and off the entire night, but it worked out because the scenes called for rain.

So there you have it. My first commercial on location film shoot in HK. I'm back in the HK swing of things baby!

Manglish & More

I got back on Sunday from my trip to Malaysia. I had an incredible experience and an awesome time. I met so many great people and took over 100 pictures. After trying to figure out which ones to put in my blog, I decided to start with this one taken from the Malaysian Twin Towers. Security was very tight even when compared to any post 9/11 NYC building. But once up there, I thought the view was spectacular. I think this particular picture was taken from the office of a video game company that I visited. The founder is from Sacramento, CA, USA of all places! He's been in Malaysia for over 7 years. When I asked him why he decided to setup and settle down in Malaysia, he said it reminds him of California in the 70's. I was never in California in the 70's, but it sure didn't remind me of California in the 90's!

The Malaysia that I saw was a very interesting place. My first thought is that it felt like a slightly more developed and cleaner version of Thailand. The people are friendly like Thais, are generally darker skinned, the climate is warm, and the food is delicious and cheap. The people I met were also quite fluent in English and at least 2 or 3 other languages. I was surprised to find that many of them speak better English and Mandarin than most people in a former British colony like Hong Kong! In addition to English and Mandarin, many of them speak Cantonese and Malay fluently as well. They also speak a mangled, Malay, slang version of English called Manglish. Apparently Manglish speakers can communicate fairly well with Singlish (Singapore's version of English) speakers even though they are quite different. I've never been to S'pore either. But I learned of a love/hate relationship the two countries share among so many other things. I usually research a place before I travel there, but I just didn't have the time this time around.

There's so much more I could write about my incredible week in Malaysia, but it's late so I'll save it for another entry.

The pace in Malaysia was slower than HK. Once I got back to Hong Kong the pace picked up almost immediately. It must be the air in HK or something. As soon as I got home I felt that I was right back in the thick of it. More on that possibly in my next blog entry.