|
Golden News
Volume 15, Number 45 - Monday 6 May 2002
The official bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile is published
every Monday and is distributed to all club members, District officials and many other "friends of KGM". Winner "Best English Club Bulletin" 2001/2002
Saturday Night Fever:
Judging by the comments received by The Phantom, everyone seems to have enjoyed our 15th Anniversary Ball which was
held last Saturday evening at the Grand Hyatt hotel, a venue which has invariably provided splendid
service and excellent food to us for many years.
The ball kicked off when PP Vince "Grumpy" Pinto, acting as Master of Ceremonies, welcomed
everyone. He then introduced our Fearless Leader President Ebe Tung "Chee Wow", who was
escorted to her chair by a John Travolta look-alike while dancing to the tune "Stayin' Alive". Not exactly Fred & Ginger but, hey, it was hilarious to watch and nobody died.
Many members wore 70's theme outfits, and notable examples included Balu "Kojak" Chainrai convincingly
dressed as Elvis, his good lady Anita "Mrs. Kojak" Chainrai and Elissa "Peanuts"
Cohen both in blonde wigs and looking like Agnetha from ABBA, Pico "Lino" Dialdas dressed like Bob
Dylan, Susie "Madam Lash" Misini looked like Roy Rogers in drag (without the horse but with larger boobs), and Mukesh "Wookie" Dayaram looked like a woolly mammoth in heat.
Not-really-70's outfits included Vice-President Patricia "Iron Lady" Blair (Janis Joplin?), Miranda "King" Kong (Betty Boop?), PP "Butch" Cassidy Lam (Rudolph
Valentino?), Nasreen Ting (Dolly Parton?), David "Party Dude" Harilela (Animal
from "The Muppets"?), and PP Robin "Ka" Ching (Maxwell Smart?).
Later in the evening, there was a vocally authentic performance by an Elvis Presley look-alike, but the
highlight of the evening was a performance by dancers from Gregory Derham's House of Siren, who
did a dance number to the tune "Lady Marmalade". The dancers then interacted with guests on the dance floor. This was the
first time we've worked with House of Siren, but their professionalism and enthusiasm will certainly encourage us to work with them again in the future. The John Travolta look-alike
was also supplied by House of Siren.
Other highlights of the evening included the popular Music Quiz, which again awarded the winning table $10,000 of
HMV vouchers, and there were also various draws for raffle prizes, kindly donated by our generous sponsors.
Our old friend Nicky Flores, who now has a bar and restaurant in Guangzhou, returned to Hong Kong especially to
perform at our ball with his band, which included his lovely wife Merly and, as usual, they kept the dance floor filled to
capacity for most of the evening. Towards the end of the evening Steve Pallaras, our guest speaker this week, joined the band and
gave us a soulful rendition of "Mustang Sally".
Your Phantom, who arrived at the Grand Hyatt at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, finally staggered out at 1:30 a.m. Sunday, but there were still two dozen or more people
still drinking and having fun when I left.
The only complaints received by the ball organisers were from some members who were disappointed that they did not have "ringside" tables.
Priority must necessarily be given to those members who take multiple tables, followed by members who have full (not shared) tables.
Sadly, as there are only eight (8) tables next to the dance floor, it is physically impossible to make everybody happy however the Ball Committee feels that by limiting sales to a maximum of 36 tables, as they did this year, there are no bad tables and the separation between tables is very comfortable.
This Week's Meeting:
Our speaker this week is Steve Pallaras who will be speaking to us about "Litigation Services International".
Steve, previously a Hong Kong Government Prosecutor but
now a Crown Prosecutor for the Government of West Australia, is happily married to former KGM member Stacey "Don't Call Me Tracey" Pallaras.
The Pallaras family moved to Perth, Australia some years ago, but they recently returned to Hong Kong in order to attend the KGM 15th Anniversary Ball, which
they too apparently enjoyed.
Milestones:
Birthday congratulations for 12 May to Vincent "Bones" Lam, who shares his birthday with great American actress Katharine Hepburn (who turns 93 this year). Member Updates:
Nothing to report except that "Stormin"
Norman Liu remains "incommunicado" because he still hasn't given me his updated email address, despite repeated requests.
Maybe he doesn't want to hear from any of us again? He gets that way sometimes.
Fellowship News:
KGM Fellowship Director David "Party Dude" Harilela reminds members that our next regular fellowship will be the traditional Indian Night, once again to be generously hosted by our Indian members. Cowboys are nonetheless welcome!
The event will be held at 7:00 p.m. (Indian Time), on Saturday 25 May
2002 at the "Viceroy of India" restaurant, Sun Hung Kai Centre, Wanchai North. Bring your dancing shoes.
And a candy bar, for nourishment, in the highly unlikely event that an Indian function starts late. Yeah, right!
Members who plan to attend this fellowship are asked to contact David's efficient Secretary Grace by email.
District 3450 News:
1) ROTARY TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY - Change of date:
The TVB Jade documentary entitled "Walk Along With Rotary", which was
originally scheduled for 19 May, has now been rescheduled for broadcast from 9:00 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. on Sunday 9 June 2002.
I suggest you reprogram your VCR right away, otherwise you may end up taping a silly Japanese cartoon series.
++++++++++
2) ROTARY CLUB OF KHUREE:
A Charter Night has been scheduled for 28 May 2002 in Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia.
Any member interested in joining DG Johnson Chu and the District delegation is invited to contact CP Herbert Lau from the RC Tolo Harbour by email as soon as possible.
++++++++++
3) 2002/2003 DISTRICT INSTALLATION:
This will be held from 6:00 p.m., Thursday 4 July 2002 at the HKCEC, Wanchai
North.
This is when the "old guard" (DG Johnson Chu & Co.), hands over the District reigns to the
"young Turks" (DGE Gloria Chan & Co.), who intend to "Sow The Seeds Of
Love" during 2002/2003.
We certainly hope DGE Gloria and her colleagues practice "Safe Sowing". Ahem.
This event is also when our District, inspired by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon and his mass Korean weddings,
perform a mass induction of all incoming Club Presidents. Sadly though, there are never enough women but,
surprisingly, this doesn't seem to bother our incoming Fearless Leader PE Nanu Lachman. Hmmm.
Anyway, tickets are priced at $500 per head, however tables of 12 persons paid on or before 31 May, will
only need to pay a total of $6,000 thereby enjoying a 10% discount. What a deal!
Members interested in attending this event should contact PE Nanu Lachman by telephone
on 9025 6699 or by email, however I fully
expect PE Nanu will, in any case, be actively trying to recruit volunteers to witness his Rotary "bar mitzvah".
Mazal-tov !
Rotary International News:
The RI Annual Convention will be held from 23 to 26 June 2002 in Barcelona, Spain, and you can
register on-line here. For more information about the convention, visit their web site!
STOP PRESS: Rotary International has announced that comedian Jerry Lewis and former Soviet leader and Nobel Laureate Mikhail Gorbachev will be attending the RI Convention, and both gentleman will be presented with the RI Award of Honour.
Web Side Story:
From our "Only In America" archives we find the website of the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice, which lists, among other things, the last meal requests of convicted felons on death row. Nice one!
However if you want some fun viewing websites in "dialects" such as "Redneck", "Cockney", Disney's "Elmer Fudd" or the Muppet's "Swedish
Chef", visit the Dialectizer website.
Goofy stuff.
Dear Geek: 
Unfortunately The Geek was unable to contribute his usual advice column this week because he was suddenly
called away to assist an important client (pictured left), who requires immediate servicing.
Of her computer.
In the meantime the Geek reminds you to keep your anti-virus software updated and never to open email attachments unless you firstly scan them for viruses.
He also urges you to take care of your floppy, as you never know when you might need it.
To transfer files.
Who Am I?
What is the more common name of American actor Alphonso D'Abruzzo?
The answer appears at the bottom of this issue.
Cunning Linguist:
Did you ever wonder about the origins of the term "United Nations" ?
Believe it or not, the term United Nations was actually coined by former US President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in a bathtub.
Churchill was in Washington over the New Year's holiday 1941, and the two men were struggling with what to officially call their alliance. The term
"alliance" was unacceptable in a formal document because, according to Churchill, it would pose constitutional problems for Roosevelt; evidently a formal alliance would
require Senate approval. Neither liked the alternative "Associated Powers", which had also been proposed.
On the morning of 1 January 1942, Churchill, who was staying in the White House, was taking a bath when Roosevelt knocked on the door. He was wheeled into the bathroom and proposed the term United Nations to Churchill, who instantly liked the term, recalling some lines from Lord Byron's "Childe Harold":
"Here, where the sword United Nations drew,
Our countrymen were warring on that day! And this is much, and all, which will not pass away" Later that day Roosevelt and Churchill, along with representatives of the Soviet Union and China, signed the United Nations pact, pledging to fight Germany, Italy, and Japan to the last, and to make no separate peace.
Eventually twenty-two other nations signed the agreement and the name was taken later on for the post-war international organization.
Golden Smile:
The family wheeled Grandma out on the lawn in her wheelchair, where the activities for her 100th birthday were taking place. Sadly Grandma couldn't
speak very well, but she could write notes when she needed to communicate.
After a short time out on the lawn, Grandma started leaning to her right, so some family members grabbed her, straightened her up and stuffed pillows on her right side. A short time later, she started leaning to her left, so again the family grabbed her and stuffed pillows on her left side. Soon she started leaning forward, so the family members again straightened her up and tied a pillow around her waist to hold her up. Her youngest grandchild, who arrived late, ran up to Grandma and said, "Hi Grandma, you're looking good! How are they treating you?" Grandma took out her little notepad, grabbed her trusty pen, and slowly wrote a note which said: "OK, except they won't let me break wind".
Quotable Quotes:
"Arnold Schwarzenegger looks like a condom full of walnuts."
-- Clive James --
The Phantom |
| "Who Am I?" answer: Alan Alda. |
If you no longer wish to receive this bulletin each week, click here. For previous issues of the bulletin (or to view them in their full HTML glory), visit our archives. © 2002 Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile. All rights reserved. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author (who is under heavy medication), and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of any other member of the club.