https://www.scmp.com/rss/11292/feed Paul Kay is a Hong Kong-based journalist and media consultant, and the former editor of Time Out Hong Kong and Hong Kong Tatler. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Small-town boy I was born in a suburb outside Cleveland, Ohio, in 1958. We moved to Rochester, New York, when I was four, and I lived there until the summer of fifth grade. I spent the rest of my childhood in a farm town called Geneseo, south of Rochester. There were about 5,000 people in the town. There were fewer than 100 people in my high school graduating class. Most of them still live in that town. It was a lovely place to grow up. School’s out My mum was a single mum. She got divorced when... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3091550/over-50s-market-where-money-says-ageist-founder?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3091550/over-50s-market-where-money-says-ageist-founder?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Jul 2020 18:00:05 +0000 Where is it? Created as a corporate retreat for Yamaha after the company’s chairman challenged his staff to find Japan’s best snow in the early 1980s, the ski resort of Kiroro was acquired by Thai developer Property Perfect in 2012. Smaller and quieter than Niseko, about an hour’s drive to the south­west, Kiroro has become a favourite among discerning powder hounds and those seek­ing a less hectic winter sports destination. What makes it special? Following the opening of Sheraton and Tribute... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3052276/yu-kiroro-hokkaido-hotel-discerning-powder-hounds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3052276/yu-kiroro-hokkaido-hotel-discerning-powder-hounds?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Feb 2020 07:00:13 +0000 The sweat is already lashing off me when the shaman instructs his assistant to add another red-hot, football-sized rock to the pit. The veins on the younger man’s temple bulge with the strain as he carefully ferries a smoulder­ing boulder on a shovel and deposits it on top of the other volcanic stones, sending embers fluttering into the air like fireflies. He steps back into the daylight, closing the wooden shutter behind him and plunging us into sweltering darkness once again. As the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3052411/shamans-seaweed-mexicos-yucatan-peninsula-where-lake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3052411/shamans-seaweed-mexicos-yucatan-peninsula-where-lake?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Feb 2020 15:00:13 +0000 Where is it? On the island of Huruvalhi, in the Maldives’ Raa Atoll, a 35-minute seaplane flight northwest of Malé’s Velana International Airport. Ah, so it’s another honeymooners’ retreat? Not exactly. The former Carpe Diem Beach Resort & Spa was recently taken over by funky American hotel brand The Standard, which has com­pletely renovated the 88 overwater villas, 27 beach villas and various venues and facilities in its signature style. Known for lively city hotels in Los Angeles, Miami, New... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3040370/standard-huruvalhi-maldives-american-hotel-brand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3040370/standard-huruvalhi-maldives-american-hotel-brand?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Dec 2019 02:45:06 +0000 What is it? Opened as the Dempsey-Vanderbilt Hotel on New Year’s Day 1937 by former world heavyweight champion boxer Jack Dempsey, and designed by influential American architect Henry Hohauser, The Setai is one of Miami Beach’s oldest surviving art deco hotels. Renovated in 2005 according to the talents of Belgian architect Jean-Michel Gathy (the man responsible for the infinity pool at the Marina Bay Sands, in Singapore) and the late Indonesian designer Jaya Ibrahim, it now sports a striking... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3037480/setai-miami-beach-asian-glamour-heart-floridas-art?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3037480/setai-miami-beach-asian-glamour-heart-floridas-art?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Nov 2019 14:30:08 +0000 In an era when everything has been not only “discovered” and written about, but also Instagrammed and emblazoned on a T-shirt, it’s hard not to feel a little envious of world travellers from days past. For me, this sentiment is rarely more acute than when weaving through the crowds at ancient temples and imagining how it must have felt to stumble on such sites in relative solitude. Even so, there’s something innately thrilling about clambering around monuments built by bygone civilisations and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3020743/borobudur-and-prambanan-two-indonesian-temples-rival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3020743/borobudur-and-prambanan-two-indonesian-temples-rival?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Jul 2019 11:45:12 +0000 Cult Scottish author Irvine Welsh, whose drug- and violence-fuelled novel Trainspotting (1993) captured the imagination of a generation and spawned an era-defining British film, will play a DJ set at this year’s Clockenflap Music & Arts Festival in November, on his first visit to Hong Kong. “I’ve been working on a techno album recently so I’ve got a few of my own tracks,” Welsh says in an interview with Post Magazine . “It’s acid-house techno, not really banging, full-on kinda mad stuff, but... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2169088/trainspotting-author-irvine-welsh-also-makes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/2169088/trainspotting-author-irvine-welsh-also-makes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Oct 2018 13:02:12 +0000 He may be reluctant to admit it, but, as years go, 2018 has been a pretty significant one for Irvine Welsh. Trainspotting, the audacious debut novel about a group of Edinburgh heroin addicts that made him a household name and spawned an era-defining film, celebrated its 25th anniversary in the summer, reminding the generation that came of age in the 1990s just how old they are. As if to underscore that fact, in March, Welsh released Dead Men’s Trousers , his 12th novel and the fourth to revolve... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2169077/irvine-welsh-retiring-trainspotting-characters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2169077/irvine-welsh-retiring-trainspotting-characters?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Oct 2018 13:02:09 +0000 When most people think of science fiction, they think of the future; of advanced technology, alien civilisations and inter­galactic space travel. But for author Dr David Brin, sci-fi is a genre that deals with the past every bit as much as it tries to predict where humanity may be heading. “You see, science fiction was badly named,” says Brin, when we meet in Hong Kong following the author’s appearance at a future-focused event in Shenzhen hosted by Chinese smartphone-maker Huawei. “Only 10 per... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2150609/secrets-bright-future-lie-human-successes-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2150609/secrets-bright-future-lie-human-successes-and?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Jun 2018 11:30:15 +0000 Take a wander through Sheung Wan and Central at 5am on most Saturday mornings and chances are the only people you’ll encounter will be dog-walkers, early bird joggers and homeward-bound revellers. But on the morning of May 12, the districts will play host to a different demographic as the yellow-shirted participants of the second annual Darkness into Light (DIL) event in Hong Kong take to the streets. As one in six Hong Kong people suffers from mental illness, Dr Lucy Lord talks about how the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/2144992/suicide-prevention-counselling-and-sharing-problems?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/2144992/suicide-prevention-counselling-and-sharing-problems?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 May 2018 11:15:15 +0000 Flying start I was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire (in Britain). I was brought up all over because my Dad was in the air force – Malta, Cyprus, (what seemed like) every county in the UK, all over the place. Then I moved to London when I was 16. From the age of about 12, 13, all I really wanted to do was go to art school. I was obsessive about going to art school. So I did. I went to Chelsea School of Art in 1977 and then Saint Martin’s in 1978. Jeremy Till of Central Saint Martins on the virtues of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2144466/gq-editor-retraces-his-journey-dreadful-drummer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2144466/gq-editor-retraces-his-journey-dreadful-drummer?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 May 2018 11:30:45 +0000 The company that redefined current affairs for the millennial generation, Vice Media, is one of the most successful – and controversial – media brands to emerge in the past 25 years. Founded in Montreal, Canada, in 1994, and known for producing youth-oriented content with a provocative edge, Vice has grown from local counterculture magazine to US$5.7 billion multi-platform global media enterprise in less time than much of its current audience have been alive. Based in New York – in the hipster... https://www.scmp.com/culture/arts-entertainment/article/2140061/how-vice-media-went-start-us57-billion-global-behemoth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/arts-entertainment/article/2140061/how-vice-media-went-start-us57-billion-global-behemoth?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Apr 2018 12:00:00 +0000 For a character originally intended as a one-novel wonder, Detective Inspector John Rebus has had a good run. The hard-living Edinburgh cop, who first appeared in the 1987 crime thriller Knots and Crosses, has gone on to drink, smoke and deduce his way through 20 more novels, garnering millions of fans around the world and turning his creator, Ian Rankin, into one of Britain’s most successful and critically acclaimed crime writers. Thirty years – and some 30 million book sales – on from Rebus’... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2117173/author-ian-rankin-30-years-john-rebus-irascible?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2117173/author-ian-rankin-30-years-john-rebus-irascible?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Oct 2017 12:15:45 +0000 Talking about hedonism in Thailand will usually conjure up images of backpacker-powered debauchery at Koh Pha Ngan’s full moon parties and the relentless temptations of Bangkok. But Thailand’s party scene has come a long way in recent years and there can’t be many better examples of this evolution than the Wonderfruit festival at the Siam Country Club, near Pattaya. Returning for its fourth edition from December 14-17, Wonderfruit takes cues from alternative festivals such as Burning Man,... https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2114723/thailands-wonderfruit-festival-puts-sustainability-its-core-creating?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/music/article/2114723/thailands-wonderfruit-festival-puts-sustainability-its-core-creating?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Oct 2017 00:30:15 +0000 When Scottish stand-up sensation Kevin Bridges takes the stage at the Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre in early October, it’s safe to say that his reception will be rather more rapturous than at his Hong Kong debut in 2008. Back then, Bridges was an unknown 21-year-old making his name on the UK circuit and appeared as part of a Comedy Store showcase. This time around, however, Bridges is a bona fide superstar of British comedy, arriving as part of a mini Asia-Pacific tour that... https://www.scmp.com/culture/article/2113059/scottish-comedian-kevin-bridges-his-path-stardom-ahead-hong-kong-return?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/article/2113059/scottish-comedian-kevin-bridges-his-path-stardom-ahead-hong-kong-return?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Sep 2017 00:00:42 +0000 EASTERN PROMISE My father was in the Royal Navy and he was based in Singapore when the British navy was in all its glory. My mother came out to join him, and I was born there. I was two years old when we went back to the UK so I can’t remember anything about it. But it’s always been quite a good question for people: which former English international was born in Singapore? LOCKED IN We went back to Lowestoft, in Suffolk [eastern England], which is where my parents are from, and where my wife,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2050711/terry-butcher-likens-english-soccer-shakespearean?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2050711/terry-butcher-likens-english-soccer-shakespearean?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Dec 2016 03:03:56 +0000 IT’S MID-AFTERNOON on a Saturday and the streets of Phnom Penh resemble a failed experiment in automotive anarchy as we rumble through another unmarked intersection amid clouds of dust and a cacophony of horns and screeching brakes. Our driver remains impassive as he manoeuvres us between a giant pothole and a beaten-up hatchback that has inex­pli­cably stopped in the middle of the road, taking a left onto a quieter street lined with modest bars and restaurants. “A people trafficker who brings... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2040307/paedophile-hunters-streets-phnom-penh?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2040307/paedophile-hunters-streets-phnom-penh?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Oct 2016 04:45:45 +0000 As well as investigating foreign paedophiles in Cambodia, a key focus of NGO Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) in the country’s capital, Phnom Penh, is investigating the virgin trade, a thriving illicit industry that is rife in the city’s poor Vietnamese-immigrant communities. With the paedophile-hunters on the streets of Phnom Penh According to APLE’s Tim Huon, mamasans identify and groom girls aged 13 to 18 in poverty-stricken areas on the fringes of the city, such as Svay Pak, then sell their... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2040546/rich-asian-men-who-buy-sex-cambodian-virgins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2040546/rich-asian-men-who-buy-sex-cambodian-virgins?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Oct 2016 04:45:45 +0000 Down to earth, pragmatic and with a propensity to call a spade a spade, Sam Allardyce is something of a dying breed among English football coaches. The former manager of Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers and, most recently, West Ham United, "Big Sam" has been one of the most outspoken and divisive characters in the English Premier League for the past 15 years, as lauded for his no-nonsense opinions and winning mentality as he is criticised for his perceived reliance on... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/1859142/hong-kong-visit-there-still-little-thanks-big-sam-allardyce-who-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/1859142/hong-kong-visit-there-still-little-thanks-big-sam-allardyce-who-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Sep 2015 14:45:00 +0000 Barton Fink John Turturro, John Goodman Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen The Coen brothers have made a career out of crafting ever-so-clever, film-school-literate movies that liberally splice genres and invite myriad interpretations, and none more so than their fourth film, Barton Fink. A film about writer's block that was written while the Coens were having trouble writing 1990's Miller's Crossing, it deftly toys with the notion that art imitates life, a postmodern paean to the Golden Age of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/article/1806802/nostalgia-trip-hotel-theme-coen-brothers-stephen-king?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-entertainment/article/1806802/nostalgia-trip-hotel-theme-coen-brothers-stephen-king?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 May 2015 14:53:06 +0000 First Blood Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Brian Dennehy Director: Ted Kotcheff Much like the Rocky series that made Sylvester Stallone's name, the Rambo films set the tone for a distinctly 1980s form of action movie, in which excessive violence was unleashed under a banner of Stars-and-Stripes jingoism. But while later episodes became implausible rocket-launcher-filled capers that walked the line between Reaganite foreign policy wet dreams and borderline homoerotic machismo, the first... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1736619/film-appreciation-sylvester-stallones-rambo-debut-first-blood?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1736619/film-appreciation-sylvester-stallones-rambo-debut-first-blood?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2015 14:41:35 +0000 Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Peter Ostrum Director: Mel Stuart With its candy-cane colours, sugar-coated plot and sometimes syrupy musical numbers, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory could easily have been a saccharine children's fantasy in the mould of Mary Poppins (1964) or Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). But while the film is largely remembered as a kaleidoscopic feel-good fantasy for kids, its enduring cult appeal lies in the sinister ingredients that... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1730788/film-appreciation-willie-wonka-chocolate-factory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1730788/film-appreciation-willie-wonka-chocolate-factory?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Mar 2015 12:30:49 +0000 There was a time when Glasgow indie outfit Belle and Sebastian could be pigeonholed under "twee pop", a genre they were instrumental in popularising with a trio of wry, wistful and articulate albums - Tigermilk (1996), If You're Feeling Sinister (1996) and The Boy with the Arab Strap (1998). But since 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress, the band have steadily pushed the musical envelope to take their dreamy, bittersweet sound in new and unexpected directions. While the band may have dabbled with a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1695764/belle-and-sebastian-ready-make-hong-kong-dance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1695764/belle-and-sebastian-ready-make-hong-kong-dance?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Feb 2015 22:45:00 +0000 Blade Runner Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young Director: Ridley Scott It's hard to believe now, but when Blade Runner was released in 1982, it was met with mixed reviews. Fast-forward 32 years - and a further six editions of the film - and Ridley Scott's magnum opus is feted as one of the best and most influential science-fiction films, with a fervent cult following to match. Visually, it set the tone for a host of acolytes - from Brazil to Total Recall to Dark City - virtually inventing... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1668639/blade-runner-most-memorable-questions-it-asks-about-meaning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1668639/blade-runner-most-memorable-questions-it-asks-about-meaning?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Dec 2014 04:51:00 +0000 Whether as a TV show, cultural phenomenon or commercial juggernaut, it's hard to overstate the importance of The Simpsons. The series, which marks 25 years since its first episode on December 17, has virtually defined comedy, satire and the Fox network that produces it during that time. Take a moment to imagine a pop culture landscape without The Simpsons and you'll understand its impact. The show not only convinced America (and the world) that animation could be for adults, it could be... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1661416/simpsons-television-and-cultural-phenomenon-turns-25-week?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1661416/simpsons-television-and-cultural-phenomenon-turns-25-week?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2014 14:37:27 +0000 In the era of Twitter gaffes and mobile phone cameras, it seems barely a week goes by without a sporting figure shooting themselves in the foot. Few falls from grace, however, have been quite as spectacular as that of Richard Keys and Andy Gray. As the nucleus of the football coverage on the then newly formed Sky Sports channel in the early 1990s, when it had just secured broadcasting rights to the nascent English Premiership, the pair became household names in the UK. Gray, formerly a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1630037/shamed-out-uk-andy-gray-and-richard-keys-are-still-talking-good-game-qatari?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1630037/shamed-out-uk-andy-gray-and-richard-keys-are-still-talking-good-game-qatari?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Nov 2014 14:15:00 +0000 He may have been born into the gem trade, but Jack Vartanian's destiny was far from set in stone. Indeed, the jewellery designer with a dedicated Hollywood following has made a career out of defying expectations. A brand that can be seen adorning the ears, necks and hands of celebrities from Emma Stone and Miley Cyrus to Sofia Vergara and Jennifer Lopez, Jack Vartanian is fast becoming one of the go-to brand names for edgy but accessible jewellery pieces - although that wasn't always the plan.... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-watches/article/1585987/jack-vartanian-jewellery-designer-stars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-watches/article/1585987/jack-vartanian-jewellery-designer-stars?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 07 Sep 2014 14:29:39 +0000 Having watched Brazil's humiliating capitulation to Germany in a remote log cabin in the Chapada Diamantina National Park, it's hard to gauge how the result will change the atmosphere there, but after landing in Rio there's a distinct sense the party's over. Gone are the smiling Budweiser girls giving out free cans of beer at the airport, while the ubiquitous green and yellow bunting we've seen on streets and town squares is conspicuous by its absence. Even the weather seems to be in a funk, the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1552915/heartbreak-hosts-brazil-visiting-fans-opportunity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1552915/heartbreak-hosts-brazil-visiting-fans-opportunity?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Jul 2014 16:30:15 +0000 For the past three weeks we've lived our lives according to the rhythm of the football schedule, but as the games start to thin out, we turn our attention to exploring the northeast and trying to bag tickets for the final. The former invariably involves long and tiring drives down bumpy dirt tracks better suited to 4x4s than our two-wheel drive rental, and we needed the help of some friendly locals to drag us out of the sand after one adventurous detour. But compared to tracking down tickets for... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1549738/we-may-have-sell-eye-secure-world-cup-final-tickets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1549738/we-may-have-sell-eye-secure-world-cup-final-tickets?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jul 2014 15:15:45 +0000 As the sun starts to set on day 23 of the tournament, the eyes of Brazil - and the world - are on Fortaleza's Estadio Castelao, where 60,000 people have turned the venue into a cauldron of noise and colour as the hosts take on Colombia for a place in the semi-finals. The Santo Forte Bar Musical in the village of Barra Grande, around 1,200km due south on the Bahia coast, may not have quite the same draw, but for us it represents a more than acceptable substitute. The semi-outdoor bar is packed... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1547528/memorable-detour-unknown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1547528/memorable-detour-unknown?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Jul 2014 13:30:30 +0000 A couple of weeks into the World Cup, it's safe to say that predictions about mass protests and half-finished construction projects disrupting the tournament were wide of the mark. But then again, it's probably a nearer miss than Brazil or Fifa would like to admit. While the stadiums have been first-rate, driving between the cities we've encountered numerous stalled or possibly abandoned infrastructure projects - literal roads to nowhere - while the paint has barely dried on some of the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1544419/politics-saints-cup-glory-any-excuse-party?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1544419/politics-saints-cup-glory-any-excuse-party?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Jul 2014 15:15:00 +0000 It's hard to say why, but from the moment we touch down in Recife something feels different. It could be the weather: until now, Brazil has met our expectations with blue skies and sunshine, but Recife is as wet and windy as a Glaswegian summer. Or perhaps it's the welcome drink. Budweiser has erected stands in host-city airports, where model-quality women in skin-tight wet-look jeans hand out free beers to new arrivals. In Recife, however, the Buds are overshadowed by a pop-up bar between the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1542573/recife-city-dances-its-own-drum-beat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1542573/recife-city-dances-its-own-drum-beat?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jun 2014 14:45:45 +0000 After almost a week in a land famed for its beaches, we still haven't felt the sand between our toes, so it's with an extra spring in our step we arrive in Fortaleza, a sun-drenched coastal city in the far northeast. Most of Fortaleza's hotels are located along its northern coast, and the area has the feel of a seaside holiday town, with buzzing beachside bars, cafes and makeshift stalls selling souvenirs, ice creams and coconuts. Our flight lands in time for the second half of Italy-Costa Rica,... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1539808/sand-between-toes-and-face-paint-after-defeat-fierce-foes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1539808/sand-between-toes-and-face-paint-after-defeat-fierce-foes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jun 2014 14:30:45 +0000 With 21 minutes left on the clock, it seems like the footballing gods are smiling on Algeria. Paired against tournament dark horses Belgium in their opening game, the North Africans have surprised everyone by taking a 1-0 lead, the players marking the moment with a team celebration that resembled a synchronised prayer at the corner flag. Gathered in an upper section of the Estadio Mineirao, the three or four thousand Algerian fans have been offering up their own songs of praise, chanting... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1537818/road-rio-algerian-fans-keep-faith-enjoying-party?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1537818/road-rio-algerian-fans-keep-faith-enjoying-party?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Jun 2014 15:45:30 +0000 The Sao Paulo early evening sky was a haze of pink and blue as I opened my bleary eyes for a first glimpse of Brazil. Thirty hours and back-to-back long-haul flights from Hong Kong via Istanbul had left me stiff and weary, but that sky seemed as welcoming and invigorating as a cold beer after a long hike. The flight was, to use a football cliché, a game of two halves, and it was the first half that would dominate the highlights reel. Given the ever-decreasing number of places that we can truly... https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/1534933/smoothest-transitions-hong-kong-planet-football?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/article/1534933/smoothest-transitions-hong-kong-planet-football?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Jun 2014 14:30:15 +0000 As any good coach will tell you, there are few things more important in football than time and space. Watch any of the game's true greats, from Zidane to Beckenbauer, Cruyff to Platini, and you get the impression the laws of physics bend to their will as they move in Matrix time to beat a man or play the next pass with complete awareness of the spatial plane. While mastery of these two dimensions among the top teams will no doubt go a long way to determining who waltzes off with the cup on July... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1532958/finally-here-and-it-was-well-worth-trip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1532958/finally-here-and-it-was-well-worth-trip?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Jun 2014 16:00:00 +0000 I must have seen it earlier, but the first time I can remember watching football was the World Cup final, Mexico '86. The year one Diego Armando Maradona dragged an unexceptional Argentina team to glory with some jaw-dropping moments of individual skill and one infamous bit of mischief. I can still remember sitting transfixed on the Lego-strewn living room floor of our tenement flat, steam hissing from my mother's iron as Maradona played a defence-splitting pass for Jorge Burruchaga's winner on... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1530140/bags-packed-trip-lifetime?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/1530140/bags-packed-trip-lifetime?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jun 2014 18:30:45 +0000 Like the flight of one of his trademark free kicks, the trajectory of Beckham's post-soccer career is the epitome of finely crafted perfection. Since quitting the game a little more than a year ago, the former Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy and England star has wasted no time in proving that brand Beckham is just as much of a force off the pitch as on. In the US, where he played for LA Galaxy between 2007 and 2012, he is in the process of creating his own Major League Soccer club... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1525148/life-after-retirement-busy-ever-david-beckham?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1525148/life-after-retirement-busy-ever-david-beckham?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Jun 2014 15:45:15 +0000 To the class of 2013, he's the man who helped Daft Punk unplug from the mainframe and rediscover disco on the worldwide summer smash Get Lucky. But for the millions who knew the name Nile Rodgers before he teamed up with Pharrell Williams and France's favourite robot duo, this latest chapter of his story is just another star turn in a glittering career. The driving force behind 1970s disco titans Chic, whose hits include the perennial dance-floor classics Le Freak, Everybody Dance and Good... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1362846/disco-pioneer-and-cancer-survivor-nile-rodgers-more-prolific?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/1362846/disco-pioneer-and-cancer-survivor-nile-rodgers-more-prolific?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Nov 2013 08:45:45 +0000 "PROGRESSIVE" IS often used to describe Danish rockers Mew - and with good reason. Their expansive indie rock transports the genre to a nigh-epic realm and the live shows are similarly ambitious in scope and execution. Mew are progressive in helping fans experience their music, as a recent multimedia collaboration with electronics brand Bang & Olufsen demonstrates. Yet they remain resolutely traditional in their beliefs of what the band and its albums represent. The paradoxes make Mew a band... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1339804/passage-indie-mew-are-denmarks-gift-prog-rock?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1339804/passage-indie-mew-are-denmarks-gift-prog-rock?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Oct 2013 14:45:45 +0000 ONCE DESCRIBED BYQ Magazine as "the biggest cult band in the UK", The Cribs have built one of the most loyal followings in indie rock over the past decade. But while their hardcore fan base grew with every album, mainstream recognition remained strangely muted - until 2012 that is, when the band marked its 10th anniversary with an impressive double whammy that saw them garner Q's Spirit of Independence award and NME's Outstanding Contribution to Music prize. Suitably gilded, the band - comprised... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1329493/band-brothers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1329493/band-brothers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Oct 2013 16:00:00 +0000 THE ONLY CONSTANT is change, as a wise man once said. And while the Greek philosopher Heraclitus wasn't thinking specifically of Californian surf-pop bands when he committed these words to parchment, that doesn't mean they apply any less to Best Coast. The LA-based duo of Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno have been steadily evolving since they burst on to the scene in 2010 with their debut album Crazy for You, a sun-drenched collection of catchy lo-fi indie pop cuts lyrically concerned with... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1324482/shore-things?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1324482/shore-things?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Oct 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Which movie characters died after uttering the following lines, and in which films? 1 'Made it, Ma! Top of the world!' 2 'If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.' 3 'I want you to promise me you're not gonna stop this fight, no matter what. No matter what.' 4 'What is your major malfunction, numbnuts? Didn't mommy and daddy pay you enough attention when you were a child?' 5 'Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy all for the love of... https://www.scmp.com/article/606359/long-goodbye?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/606359/long-goodbye?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Sep 2007 16:00:00 +0000 Super Furry Animals Hey Venus! (Love Da) Of all the bands to emerge from Britain's booming indie scene in the mid-1990s, few can claim to be as enduring - or as consistently interesting - as Super Furry Animals. From their 1996 debut, Fuzzy Logic, through to 2005's psychedelic Love Kraft, the prolific Cardiff five-piece have been just about the most dependably brilliant act around. And there's little evidence this state of affairs is in danger of changing on the band's eighth studio album,... https://www.scmp.com/article/605529/super-furry-animals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/605529/super-furry-animals?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Aug 2007 16:00:00 +0000 1 Which South American city is the highest capital in the world? 2 In a recent worldwide poll to elect the New Seven Wonders of the World, two sites in South America were chosen. Name them. 3 Which city is South America's largest? 4 How many times has the football World Cup been won by a team from South America? 5 Which of these countries does the Amazon River not flow through: a) Paraguay b) Colombia c) Peru? 6 Dutch is the official language of which South American country? 7 Which... https://www.scmp.com/article/605589/latin-lessons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/605589/latin-lessons?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Aug 2007 16:00:00 +0000 1 Which iconic sci-fi film is based on Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 2 Who was the last US president to graze sheep on the White House lawn? 3 Which country has the most sheep, according to the United Nations? 4 What was the name of the sheep puppet used by American comedienne and ventriloquist Shari Lewis? 5 Which English Premier League football team has an ovine mascot called Rammie? 6 In the Chinese zodiac, when will the next Year of the Sheep... https://www.scmp.com/article/604802/feeling-sheepish?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/604802/feeling-sheepish?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Aug 2007 16:00:00 +0000 1 Which country launched the world's first airline, Delag, in 1909? 2 Air Koryo is the national airline of which Asian country? 3 Which airline carried the most scheduled passengers in 2006, with a total of more than 99 million? 4 What do Bouraq Indonesia Airlines, Japan's Harlequin Air and Origin Pacific Airways of New Zealand have in common? 5 Which is the oldest airline still operating under its original name? 6 What logo do Aer Lingus planes have on their tail? 7 Which airline... https://www.scmp.com/article/603883/something-air?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/603883/something-air?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Aug 2007 16:00:00 +0000 Fancy a Kupper? He may be best known as a remixer and producer, but Eric Kupper (below) - who plays Armani/Bar this Saturday - has forged an impressive sideline in DJ-ing during the past few years. Kupper, a multi-instrumentalist who started out in 1986 as a keyboardist and guitarist for the likes of David Morales and Frankie Knuckles, has played on, remixed or produced more than 1,400 tracks, and his list of satisfied customers includes Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Jamiroquai. After... https://www.scmp.com/article/603498/outtakes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/603498/outtakes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:00:00 +0000 Highlights DMC World DJ Championships The contest's Hong Kong finals, with local DJs getting six minutes each to play. Tonight, 10pm, California, G/F California Tower, 30-32 D'Aguilar St, Central, HK$150, includes one drink, e-mail DMC@LKFGroup.com to sign up. Inquiries: 2521 1345 Slok The Italian DJ/producer spins downtempo. Tomorrow, 10pm, Volar, B/F, 39-44 D'Aguilar St, Central, HK$150, free for members, includes one drink, e-mail intoxicated@volar.com.hk to sign up. Inquiries: 2810... https://www.scmp.com/article/603494/gigs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/603494/gigs?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:00:00 +0000 1 Howl is the best-known work of which seminal American poet? 2 Which poet claimed to have written Kubla Khan after awaking from an opium-induced dream in 1797? 3 In the 2004 film The Libertine, which 17th-century poet was portrayed by Johnny Depp? 4 Who recited The Gift Outright at the inauguration of US president John F. Kennedy? 5 To which American writer was former British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes (right) married? 6 Which Nobel Prize-winning poet opened the 2006 Man Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/article/603091/poetry-motion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/603091/poetry-motion?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Aug 2007 16:00:00 +0000