So why do we bring his name into this column? What possible connection could he have? His works are currently out of print, according to Amazon.com. His novels include The Red and the Black and The Charterhouse of Parma. He also wrote essays entitled: "Memoirs of an Egotist" and "On Love". So maybe you can see that here was a man who, had he lived in today's age, might have been a fellow enthusiast of bosomy women.

The Electric Encyclopedia has this to say: The Stendhalian hero has an egoism that derives its energy from passion, has its own moral code, and unswervingly pursues happiness in the form of love or power.

So I think that later this week on Halloween Night, when I head for an evening's entertainment in Hong Kong, I shall be looking for a treat, and hoping not to be tricked. I might go to the BBoss Club. There, exotic hostesses will make their way to my table, their sole purpose to extract money from my pocket. I will be charged according to how long I sit at a table, how many drinks I consume, and how many hostesses I require for my entertainment and pleasure. I will be taken to my table onboard an electric replica of a Rolls Royce. I will ogle scantily clad performers on stage. The Mama-san will keep track of which girls she sends to my table, and how long they stay.

The next night, in Singapore, I might begin with a Singapore Sling at the famed Raffles Hotel Bar and Billiard Room. Then I could head over to JJ Mahoney's for some karaoke, to do some "squeaking out". Then, for the finale, I might make my way over to The Orchard Towers Top Ten Club, a notorious pick-up joint for Asian Women. This disco is as sleazy as it gets in Singapore, so maybe I will get lucky, and maybe I will leave with a busty Singaporean on my arm, and some money remaining in my wallet.

Ah yes, the flesh-pots of the mysterious East are calling. At the BBoss Club, if I am not careful, I could run through a small fortune in a single evening. And at the Orchard Towers, I might also go through a decent amount of paper money. My thinking is this, will I find the marvelous big breasted Asian woman of my dreams?

Stendhal once wrote: When I travel to a new city, the first thing I do is to ask who are the 12 most beautiful women, who are the 12 richest men, and who is the man so powerful, that he would be the one to have me hanged...

So if I am lucky, I will have a bunch of beautiful, busty bar hostesses offering me their attention and treats. Or some exotic goddess will look at me with intrigue as well as interest. Hopefully some rich guy will foot the bill for the evening's events, but that seems really unlikely. And you know I will do my best to avoid the hangman's noose by not offending some high mucky-muck. It never hurts to ask the right questions, and it is always smart in the Far East to know how important it is to be correct and let the other guy not wonder about loss of face, and to know when to say, no problem, or simply Mai Pehn Rai... and a Happy Halloween to all of you.