talkshop

I caught this movie lately in Singapore, weeks before I left for Shanghai. It is an unfamiliar movie known as “Blood Diamond” , starring Leonardo Decaprio, Jennnifer Connelly and Djimon Hounso. Only the first two names will ring a bell since they are Hollywood stars. Back to the topic, its a film about conflict diamonds, how diamond mining has brought the whole African nation into child labour, child soldiers and rampart wars over control of diamond miners and mines.

How I wish all girls will see this film and realize how futile buying a diamond is, despite the marketing by De Beers that its forever precious.

If they cannot be convinced, there is always this little gem (pun intended) I found on the internet, its an article, titled “Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond?”, on how the diamond monopoly controlled by De Beers willl likely crumble under its own weight and cause diamonds to become no more than a pretty stone.

A nice article on smart marketing that allowed the diamond monopoly to take place and deceive the public about the rarity of such stones. All girlfriends should read this. Its time to buy jade rings instead. Or watch the movie for good measure.

This is the second week of my stay in Shanghai. The first week was free and easy. Much of it was spent on getting to know Shanghai better. Of course, the most that we got to see was the food itself.

The disparity in prices for local goods and amenities is astonishing. What we normally would pay in Singapore for a mere packet of tissue napkins would translate into S$1.30 for a jumbo pack of 16 tissue packets.

The Carrefour in China is amazing big, with the flagship store at Gubei as huge as 4 storeys in total, or so I heard. Even the brands they carry are simply overwhelming and I will often stand there trying to see which brand offers the best bang for the buck. (A buck is very literal statement.) You can see all that in the picture I took and yes… The condom section is one whole shelve by itself.

Almost everything here can be bought cheaply with the exception of branded goods; they hold a price premium in Shanghai. For the same item, it would cost cheaper to purchase them in Singapore instead. The same goes for pricey electronic goods like computer notebooks and IT accessories.

Despite being the cosmopolitan city it is, the culture shock was still one that was struck right in my face. Littering and spitting is somewhat a common way of living in Shanghai. I struggle most of the time trying to find a rubbish bin where I can dispose of my trash. Rubbish bins could be a national icon considering how many there can be lined up in a street locally. Sometimes, I just follow suit and chuck it one side. It is quite liberating actually, coming from the strict Singaporean Litter-free mindset. =)

I just found out that Performancing adds a little advertisement at the bottom of my post about their FireFox extension. Hmmm I wish they didnt do that but I guess its ok compared to the convenience offered by their FireFox extension.

Turns out in the options you can have that removed. Hoooo yeah!