Gene-genies just let themselves go - for a price
We see Frankenstein is hosting a lecture in praise of his monster.
Hmm. That was probably very unfair and ill-informed of Lai See - and just the sort of attitude the Biotechnology Association hopes to change.
Throughout the developed world, biotechnology companies have been making desperate efforts to 'educate' the public into accepting their gene-spliced creations.
One such seminar is being held in the Convention Centre on Friday.
The guest speaker is one Chua Nam-Hai, Professor at Andrew W. Mellon, Head of Laboratory of Plant Molecular Biology, The Rockefeller University.
Nothing unusual there.
What is unusual is the Biotechnology Association's decision to charge the public for the privilege of being swayed by their arguments.
Tickets cost $150.
Professor John Hodgkiss, of Hong Kong University's Ecology and Biodiversity department, was taken aback by the fee.
'Most societies in Hong Kong have lectures,' he says. 'There's never any question of charging to hear them. It's seen as part of the job and our duty as teachers.' He suspects the involvement of a commercial venture is at the root of it; The lecture is backed by biotechnology company SGS Hong Kong Limited.
Hmm. It seems Mr Chua's lecture raises some controversial questions, not just about the role of biotechnology, but about the ethics of putting a price tag on knowledge itself.
Lai See's not going as a matter of personal principle.
She doesn't believe in paying money to listen to anyone whose job title says 'Mellon Head'.
Hats off to Thai Lemon Grass for their unorthodox fruit-flavoured desert.
Banker Richard Jackson told us about it. He was there with his wife on Valentine's Day.
The couples crowding the restaurant had all been presented with set dinner menus. Included in the price of the meal was a little gift.
A Valentine's Day packet had been placed on each table, its contents held together by a red ribbon.
Releasing the items from their bond, Mr and Mrs Jackson found themselves looking at a couple of small bottles of men's cologne, some women's perfume . . . and a banana-flavoured condom.
Hmm. In our mind, that raises a question.
Why banana? Did it somehow complement the meal? Lai See gave restaurant manager Derek Wong a call to find out.
No, he said with a shy chuckle. That just happened to be the flavour the sponsor (Durex) sent over. And anyway, the prophylactic giveaway wasn't exclusive to Thai Lemon Grass. Guests at all the eateries in the Lan Kwai Fong Restaurant group took home the same packages.
No word on why Durex chose that particular variety as their V-Day condom-ment.
Some might argue that looking at a beribboned banana-flavoured birth control device over dinner doesn't really set the tone for an evening of hand-holding, shall-I-compare-thee-to-a-summer's-day type romance.
Still. No one can say the gift was tasteless.
More 'Great Thinkers of Our Time': 'I haven't committed a crime. What I did was fail to comply with the law.' (David Dinkins, former New York City Mayor, answering accusations that he failed to pay his taxes.) 'Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life.' (Brooke Shields, during an interview to become a spokesperson for a federal anti-smoking campaign.) 'I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body.' (Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward.) 'We're going to turn this team around 360 degrees.' (Jason Kidd, upon being drafted by the Dallas Mavericks.) 'China is a big country, inhabited by many Chinese.' (former French President Charles De Gaulle.) 'Outside the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.' (former mayor of Washington, DC Marion Barry.) 'It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.' (former United States vice-president Dan Quayle.) 'That low-down scoundrel deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass, and I'm just the one to do it.' (A Congressional candidate in Texas.)
