Hong Kong Rugby 7's

Hello My Dear Most Excellent Ones,

Last week I went to a famous art show, this week a premier sporting event.  Hong Kong is awesome!  The Hong Kong Sevens is, according to their propaganda, the premier rugby sevens event in the world.  Twenty-four countries, mainly old British colonies and their former master, send their best and fastest players to do battle.  The format of this tournament is unique.  Teams only have seven players, normal rugby has 15, so just imagine a hockey game going 4 on 4 or 3 on 3, yeah only having 7 a side creates lots of action, intense pace, but each game is only 14 minutes.  Seven minute halves, 2 min intermission, done.  Once the game is over there is a three minute pause, to load up on beer or go to the loo (British term for bathroom) and the next game starts.

This pace goes on for three days, the first day (Friday) goes from 11 am to 9 pm,  Sat and Sun starts earlier in the morning and shuts down earlier at night.  This event is well attended and fans come from all over the commonwealth to cheer their heros on.  While the rugby is top notch, I personally am not a rugby fan mainly cause I have never played, but I did appreciate the athleticism of the players.  Big and fast and highly skilled!

One thing that goes hand in hand with rugby is beer.  Apparently it is part of the rugby culture to consume huge quantities of beer and for some it is also important to dress up.  I saw smurfs, minions, bishops, pirates, and lots of what I believe were thing 1's.  And they were all adults!  Basically rugby is not just a sport, but an excuse for a social time and an opportunity to consume too much beer.  It's a party!  Here are a few other impressions of my time at Hong Kong 7"s:

You know an event is big league when you see how many sponsor the event.  The Hong Kong 7's also have been going for 40 years.   

The media came fully equiped to record every movement.

Oceans of beer are consumed by the fans.

Bill has been a faithful follower of the Hong Kong 7's for 25 years straight.  He loves to sing the Scottish national anthem and did so--loudly---getting plenty of support from the ethnic Scots.

Fiji was well represented by looking like Thing 1?

Germans like I have said over and over are well represented, especially when beer is offered.

I  am fairly positive that these furs are not real.

Aye matey!

Hong Kong Stadium.  Can fit about 50 000 people.

In the rowdy south end.

Ok the game.  Lots of tackling and wrestling.  No pads!

You move the ball by either running with it or passing it laterally to a teammate.  You can't pass it ahead.

The object is to carry the ball into your opponent's endzone, just like football.  You score 6 points for doing this and an extra point if you kick it between the uprights.  Just like football.

Kenya vrs the USA.

A team warming up.

A throw in from the sideline, putting a guy up high gives them a better chance to get the ball.  Hmm.

Scotland in pink!  

The powerhouse Fiji (white) team (no kidding)  they have won this tournament a few times already, against Somoa.  Fiji destroyed em.

Yeah rugby is interesting.  Especially the culture around it.

Have a great week!

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk

Dirk Goes To Art Basel

About Art Basel

Art Basel stages the world's premier Modern and contemporary art shows, held annually in Basel, Miami Beach, and Hong Kong. Founded by gallerists in 1970, Art Basel has been a driving force in supporting the role that galleries play in the nurturing of artists, and the development and promotion of visual arts. 

In addition to showing exciting works by world-renowned artists, Art Basel is always innovating, thus expanding its platform for new artists who represent the vanguard of the visual arts. Its worldwide reputation – earned over the last forty years – for showing work of the highest merit, and attracting the world's leading gallerists and collectors, has made Art Basel the place where the artworld meets.

Hello Dear Great Ones,

I don't consider myself a great art appreciator, my interests and likes are rather limited to classic European paintings of people and landscapes, and Norman Rockwell type art depicting normal life in a wry humour, but profound way.  So going to Art Basel with my artsy, almost wife to be Celia, was a bit of a stretch, for much of the art at this exhibit is a bit out there, which is a gentle way of saying some of it was obscene, outright strange, ridiculous, stupid, and disturbing.  Yet, art is in the eye of the beholder, so without further ado here are a few pics from Art Basal, Hong Kong,  2015.  

Yep thats me I went to Art Basel.

The exhibition took over two floors of the Hong Kong convention center.

Ok, these pics were not from Art Basel, but rather at a mall here in HK.  Yet I threw this in here cause its funky art, like what can be seen at Art Basel. 

Ok back to Art Basel. Furniture made of wire.  Would be torture to sit on.  Ouch. Interesting.

Colored planks of wood along a wall.  Yeah so.  The work of art (beautiful woman taking a selfie) in front of these planks is amazing.

I do like Chinese landscape art.  This example was over the top.

There were several different types of mirrors at the exhibit, which made you the art.  Funky, kind of funny.

No I am not at Home Depot checking out plywood for my basement renovations.  This is supposed to be art.

The Albertan in me kind of liked this.  I have seen millions of deer back in my home and native land, tons of brown leaves and the branches in the antlers, gives this art a real woodsy feel.  Ok. Like.

Football painting.  Good detail.  Depicts an intimate rugged encounter typical of football.  Shows how tough the sport really is.

Goofy.  Desecration of two great paintings.

Cake balancer about to fail.  Amusing and far out.  Like the colors.

This guy reminded me of some native shaman.  This guy was also a man wandering around dressed like this.  A "work of art."

This reminded me of an Alberta winter day around Christmas.  A Christmas tree bogged down by snow.  How many times have I seen this for real?  Way too many.

This has an Egyptian, idol worship feel to it.  Disturbing, especially the foot with the long toes.

Amusing random picture tinted in blue.  Ha ha.

This was cool.  Two statues made of silicone.  These are about 4 feet each, and the detail, veins, hair, expression on the faces was startling.  They looked very real.

Ha ha ha ha ha.  This is art?  I think I could have done this.  

Best art piece at the exhibit.  Love pics like this.  A scene from old China.

Me getting serious at the exhibit.

Grotesque.  Poor horse.  Don't get how deformity is art.

Huh?  A bunch of boxes with metal. Reminds me of Home Depot.

An amazing quilt.  My dear Queen Elizabeth.

A rock on dark colored plywood.  I think Art Basel is endorsed by Home Depot.

Old pics incased in glass, in front of a map.  Journey of life perhaps?

On my way to eternity.  Not bad.

Standing by a narrow sculpture of a head.  Very interesting.

Ok I admit this is cool.  A butterfly and backdrop made up entirely of butterfly wings.  A lot of butterflys gave their lives for art.

Well thats it.  Art Basel will return next year.  Think I might show up again to give my emotions a bit of a workout and expand my mind a bit.

God bless you all!

Love adios and ping on!

Dirk