Censorship in Hong Kong Cinema

I'm really annoyed by the practice of censorship of mainsteram and independent cinematic film in Hong Kong.

While I don't see a huge number if films in the cinema, one of the films I was really eager to see was Ang Lee's Lust|Caution. I've been a huge fan of Ang Lee since I first saw his comedic masterpiece The Wedding Banquet back in about 1991. In my opinion The Wedding Banquet was a better film than Eat, Drink, Man, Woman, the title of which I like to joke sounds like Arnold Schwarzenegger asking someone out on a date.

But I digress. I've loved ever Ang Lee movie, and I really wanted to see Lust|Caution. Until I found out that it would be censored before release in Hong Kong. While not as drastic as the censorship in the mainland, where a full 30-something minutes were cut out, there were neverhteless 8 minutes cut out from the Hong Kong cinematic version.

I very strongly want to see the film as Lee envisioned it, even though he claims the censorship doesn't really cut much of crucial importance from the film, and the scenes in the HK version were still steamy enough to get the point across.

So I've thus far refused to see the film, and I'm waiting for the uncensored import DVD version to be released. It might be tricky to get, as this film is much higher profile than 9 Songs, which was also censored in Hong Kong. But I've got a DVD supplier who got me my British copy of 9 Songs who might be able to help. Barring that, I can always ask my parents to send me a copy from the US, or even order it from Amazon.

So it's still going to be a while before I can see the film most of my friends are raving about. But I'm glad that the first time I see it it will be in its "purest" form.

Act your age, not your shoe fetish.

I’ve recently noticed that I have a shoe fetish. Ok... that's a lie. I've long known that I have a shoe fetish. But I've recently been reminded of that fact. Add that to my miniskirt fetish, and any woman with the mind to do so would realize just how easy it is to manipulate me.

In particular, I love high, high heels. Stilettos, block heels, doesn't really matter. I also like open toe sandals of most heights, preferably 1” or taller though – not so much affected by flats.

But nothing gets my attention more than 3” or 4” heels.

Even a homely looking woman that I had never taken notice of can suddenly grab my attention with the right shoes or skirt length -- or better yet, a combination of both.

On one hand, I’m ashamed of this weakness, but on the other hand, I realize that if I accept it as part of me, I can actually take advantage of it as a tool to affect my mood.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about…

At my office there are 3 girls in my department. They are all very, very plain looking, at best. One might even venture so far as to call all three of them ugly.

But one of them caught my attention. She has a gaunt, thin face, thin lips and old, droopy eyes. She wears clothes that are generally very plain, and she is extremely thin.

But what caught my attention were her shoes! The most gorgeous, sexy shoes, apparently four-inch heels or more, peek out from under the legs of her slacks (she actually wore a nice looking slit pencil skirt today) every day.

Add to that, the one of the three that I would have considered the least attractive wore high heels of a similar type the other day, and I suddenly took notice of HER. I mean, come on, she has tiny, beady eyes that are too-close together, and big ears sticking out of the side of her head. Not attractive. But when she wore the right shoes, she was somehow magically transformed in my mind.

How can something that’s not a part of a woman’s personality, face or body affect me so much? I must be an idiot. But it does affect me. Always has.

Medeleine never wore the tallest of shoes, but the taller her shoes, or the more sandal-like they were (or the higher the boots), the more I was enamored. And the day Jackie put on those black boots she bought at I.T. was the day I fell in love with her, after such a long time of not really noticing her as an attractive woman (I’m not saying she’s not attractive or wasn’t worthy of my love, just that before the boots I honestly hadn’t noticed her).

Now I’m fortunate that Fanny has no objection to wearing tall shoes and short skirts… because I’ve got to admit that I like being happy. And when I’m physically attracted to the woman that I’m with, I’m happy! Yeah, I know, I’m petty. What a stupid criteria to base love on.

Like I said, I’m an idiot. But a lucky one. I’m also lucky that Fanny is more than a pair of shoes and a short skirt. She’s really got a soul that I love more than anything.