Shenzhen Zen

Get Back Hongkie Cat
Note: Turns out that Spike has not left the building. Different format, different focus - or should that be 'foci?' as the topics range from Israel to a review of Superman Returns - but essentially same ol' Spike. Nice to know that his fans were able to sway his return. Otherwise, what I originally wrote here stands.
One of my favorite blogs just closed its doors and I'm a bit bummed, though I know the feeling. Written by a guy who called himself, Spike it was Hongkie Town (there's a link to it here, though now it'll just take you to a message that reads: "Comments have convinced me that taking this down is the right thing to do and probably long overdue. I may do something different in a short while but this one is finished") and mostly detailed his agnonies and occasional ecstasies while trawling bars in Wan Chai or his largely fruitless dates with Proper Women.
'Twasn't all hookers and heartache, though. He'd hold forth on music, film, food - all with a sense of humor, a lot of heart and more than a little soul.
I began as a fan and later got to know him some and was glad to see he was as advertised. Funny, neurotic, frighteningly honest with peerless taste in pop culture and a CD and VCR collection that resembled an adjunct to the Library of Congress.
I called him up a few minutes ago to ask why he'd pulled the plug.
Mostly burn out, he said plus the stress of more or less living his life in public. Though he wrote under a nom de blog, I could relate. I use my real name and as a result also do some self-censoring. I have also occasionally deleted posts that I realized would only cause more problems than I already have. What I admired about Spike's Hongkie Town was that he seemingly held nothing back and did it well, even if it writing about being too drunk to fuck or about toting a stool sample through Hong Kong's posh, plush Central district.
"Also dropped off some shit (literally) at the regular doctor. Yeah bad enough I walk the dogs and end up carrying two bags of shit to the trash bin, today I was walking through Central with a bag of shit. Walked into the doctor's office, handed the bag to the woman at the desk, she started giggling and said "goodbye." I said, "wait, do you even know who I am?" She picked up a card from her desk with my name on it. I guess she wasn't expecting any other gweilos to give her shit today."
He'll be missed by most, as comments on his final post The Shape I'm In, showed. Here's one: "Dude - don't stop your blog. Genuinely hilarious, fun and insightful. In fact yours is the first (and still pretty much only) blog I read regularly. Good luck with the relationship and don't stress too much about your situation. In the great scheme of things, you have a pretty good arrangement by the sounds of things. Finally, as a good doctor in Singapore once told me as he was prescribing extra-strength painkillers, "you'll know when you get there." Good luck man, keep blogging and remember that you really do have some people out there who like what you have to say."
Hongkie Town is dead. Long live Hongkie Town.