One of Hong Kong’s tallest skyscrapers has refused to host an exhibition of clogs put on by a Dutch charity because of worries the clunky footwear will bring bad luck, a report said.
The Cheung Kong Center refused to give the go ahead to the show, which was organised by the Dutch consulate, because of feng shui.
"
Should have known they’d get the boot.
lol I just read “Show cancelled” and thought something was up with Derren for a mo lol
Glad it’s just clog related.
Ooft, that was a bit wooden.
ohww fg-sake…they should have made wooden pumps.
lol@glenn…i thought the same at first sight
ooh they were being groggy about the cloggies.
What is this, the stone age? Hong Kong needs to get with the times, they’re really dragging their feet with stuff like this.
I am so ashamed of my country.
Do you know in most modern architectures, we don\’t have the fourth floor?? I mean, how ridiculous is that?
Totally irrational.
How these puns bring a tear to my eye. I think I need a tish-shuh (geddit!!)
Speaking of getting with the times, where is Flapjack? It’s not like him to be reluctant to get his feet wet with this kind of opportunity.
Amster-dammit, I leave the house for one afternoon to spend some quality time with my man, and you start the punning without me!
WOOD you just wait a bit!
It\’s not like I’ve popped my clogs, I’m merely dead on my feet!
I think starting a Dutch wooden footwear punning session without the no.1 punner on this site is nothing short of INSOLE-ent!
I’m not about to con-CEDAR-feet OAK-ay?
You’re making a right ASH of it! You need someone with punning experience at the ‘ELM!
Is that enough?
[yes, in spite of what you might think I do occasionally leave the house!]
Flapjack, if there was a Pun King constest you’d be a shoe-in. You’ve given all of us contenders here the boot. Don’t let it get to your head, though – one day you’ll run dry, and the shoe will be on the other foot!
SGC – Well, I just didn’t want you to think I was just kicking my heels here! Creating shoe puns is just a matter of finding the right ANKLE!
I would make more wooden shoe puns, but if I go into pun overdrive you’re gonna be SICK-A-MORE.
[Ouch, that last one was pretty tenuous!]
I’m not sure if its ok to mock this one.
Ok its not what i belive, but its a tradition, seems to work under some tests, and is a cultural diffrence.Placibo or not. works.
whats anyone else think?
Cheers
Rob
I thought feng shui was only used for pieces of furniture and such, objects .. not words ..
Clogs can create bad vipes though … ehehehe .. they are forbidden in our building as the noise became a bit too much … so now there are no clogs/wooden shoes here anymore … bye bye culture ..
Also, they dont feel nice to your heels ..
But feng shui apparently worked very different in the other tower …
What a story …
Ehehehe … can you imagine that one Dutch person dancing in Riverdance .. hehehe .. they got rid of him as well .. for the same reason as the chinese .. Just use your imagination and see …. and understand ..
Exactly .. it did not sound nice ….
Rob – I don’t think Feng Shui practitioners count as a put-upon minority, any more than people who make homeopathic drugs. You either believe in it or you don’t, but I’m pretty sure they don’t loose sleep because of the nay-sayers. As Barnum said, there’s one born every minute.
Unscientific opinions are pretty much fair game for gentle mockery, so long as you don’t turn it into a witchunt. Most folks aren’t that bothered to turn a difference of opinion about feng-shui into a full blown culture war. Can you imagine a blazing political row erupting over how someone arranges their furniture? Me neither. If they want to feng-shui the house, go ahead. I just choose not to.
It does remind me of this advert though…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5TWPF76eps
Don’t know if this is more offensive to Feng Shui practitioners or Aussies!
Rob: sorry, I am not into cultural relativism. I live in Canada, but I am from Scotland. Being British, you could say it’s a cultural difference for me to believe in the four humours. I think that would be mockable, and I hold people from Hong Kong to the same standards as those from Britain. Also, being a tradition does not make something untouchable by rational thought. If we were unable to challenge traditions, where would we be now? It’s a scary thought.
It’s not ok to walk up to someone who believes in Feng Shui and call them nasty names for it, but I see no problem with laughing at a news story.
Also, I am not sure – what tests are you referring to that show it works?
I once got asked to dinner by a dutch guy – but when I got round his house he’d popped his clogs.
ughhhh!
Phillis: you’ve finally given in and joined in with the pun-runs, huh? That’s a good start – best foot forward and all that!
Phillis, I feel honoured! You’re officially part of the pun posse now y’know!
We’ll have you doing Xmas Cracker jokes next!
I think you’ll find that’s not strictly a pun – more of a “one liner” – such paronomasiac ambiguity may arise from the intentional misuse of homophonical, homographical, homonymic, polysemic, metonymic, or metaphorical language.
That sounded gay didn’t it?
What on earth are you lot mumbling about?!…
Damn you Phyllis, that’s another morning wasted with the Oxford English Dictionary on my lap! GRRR
Homonymic- Pertaining to one of a group of words spelt in the same way but having different meanings.
Homophonical- the linguistic phenonemon whereby words of different origins become identical in pronunciation
homographical – one of a group of words spelt in the same way but having different meanings
polysemic – the existance of several meanings in the same word
metonymic – the substitution of a word refering to an attribute for the thing that is meant ie. the use of ‘the crown’ to refer to a monarch.
metaphoric – well everyone knows that one!
All bar two of those words can be summarised by the simple word “pun” Phillis.
You’ve been messing with my head again, haven’t you? I’m going back to bed – metaphorically!
Hurrar!
We made a valid thread…trust Philis to add a pun though. tut tut.
lol
Cheers
Rob
@Flapjack: Too… much… learning… brain melting… aaargh
Rob: I know, right? Someone ought to put their foot down.
SGC – You know it’s having to look up all those long words that takes all the joy out of punning.
Maybe in future I’ll just apply John Cleese’s 3 rules of comedy…
1. No puns
2. No puns
3. No puns
[yeah, like I'm really going to stick to that regime for more than a week! BTW, which is the lowest form of wit - Sarcasm or puns?]
I thought Dutch clogs were made of wood, and isn’t wood one of the 5 elements of feng shui? It’s interesting that they are bad just because they are to clunky footwear.