Going to Shanghai too

Well, I think we've finally decided to go to Shanghai to visit HWMBO's and my friend CB, who works there, and another friend of ours who married someone who works there. I'm a bit apprehensive, as I will have to get a visa which is not particularly a great thing to do, and probably get it in Singapore, as we've waited too long to get one here except at an exhorbitant price.

Our friend former-Singapore Alex, lent me the Time Out Guide to Shanghai, which apparently thinks the city is fabulous. I shall be tied to HWMBO there, as I only speak rudimentary Chinese. I'm somewhat apprehensive, especially on the health front.

On the way back from collecting the book, I stopped off in Boots and bought some travel socks to try to avoid deep vein thrombosis during the trip. They don't look very stylish. But, as it's a 13 hour flight, I'm not taking any chances.

Tonight we're having dinner at Kiasu restaurant at Queensway with my former Chinese teacher, Azalea. It was reviewed in the Weekend magazine in the grauniad and got 9/10 points. It's a Straits-type restaurant, with Malaysian and Singaporean food.

So I guess we're a bit crazy: about to spend 3 weeks in the Straits area, eating at local restaurants, we choose to eat at a Straits restaurant in London.

Today's Capital Punishment URL

You might say that Texas's State Joke is alive and well and living in Washington, DC with his wife and two daughters. However, a condemned killer in Texas who is about to be executed has a different idea. As Bugs Bunny used to say after laughing uproariously at a joke, "You slay me!"

Update: Another broken CNN link; I have replaced it with his Wikipedia entry. In searching around, though, I found this link, which just strikes me as gruesome beyond belief.