Happy 2015!
Let’s begin the new year with the latest season of China’s version of I Am Singer, where THE VOICE Han Hong is participating… kicking ass and taking names in the evening, ugly crying [1] and all. She knows the stage.
Category: Art
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Adelina Sotnikova Still Deserved Gold~
ESPN has been re-broadcasting the best bits of the Sochi Olympics, and in true Winter Olympics nature, la creme de la creme of winter sports is usually women’s skating. It’s hard to pin-point what the most popular event at the Summer Olympics is (is it football? volleyball?), but the women who skate are the queens of the gala.
This year, there was a rather nasty controversy between eventual Gold-medalist Adelina Sotnikova (back then only 17) and eventual Silver-medalist and retiring Kim Yuna. The name-calling online got ugly and tiring, proving once again that -as a general rule- fans can suck so much. I can imagine what a cesspool YouTube commenting would be like if it didn’t require Gmail account linkups.
As far as the skating goes, I was dazzled when Kim Yuna won Gold at the Vancouver Olympics, where she skate for her life with such delicacy and grace. In Sochi, though, as much as she could have been pitch perfect in technique (we all do admit skating looks effortlessly when she does it), I was a bit bored. Then again, I’m just a fan who’s never picked up a pair of ice-skates in her life. I’ve never seen a frozen lake or ever stepped on an ice rink before. I’m just mostly disappointed of her fans.
Sotnikova’s choreography, however, surprised me the first time I saw it, and still manages to thrill me to no end. During my second time watching, I thought I might have been influenced by the ESPN Latino commentator who was pretty darn excited with her program, so I decided to look it up-
Still gives me the chills.
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YAM’s Film Choices of 2014
Like we always do, the YAM Magazine team got together to vote for their favorite movies in a good ole’ Facebook poll in our secret group. We are so different and live so far away from each other that our choices vary so much, making the list alive. Of course there are movies I wish were lower, and others that were higher… but, all in all, it’s a good varied list for everyone to discover a new title.
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Tabu~ Outgrowing Indian Cinema
Of course I’ve managed to watched Haider already. Three times. Over the weekend. In a month, I see it topping my list of favorites this 2014. Anyway~ there is a wonderful wordy article on Tabu by Raja Sen — titled The Stunning Actress Who Dared to Age, Seduce Her Son— and Confound Bollywood — where he sings praises left and right of Tabu’s latest performance [which has, in fact, trumped all her performances], and talks about her most (critically and commercially successful) notable roles.
In other news, it’s unlikely Rajeev Masand will take off the geo-block on his YouTube account, but the Actress Roundtable [1] is available on the IBN website. It’s got some very good moments, despite the Me, Me, Me, It’s All About Me attitude certain someone displayed. I was amazed. I always expect it, but this is taking it to a whole new level. LOL
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Mavis is Immediately Back~
Mavis Fan’s fans (no pun intended) rejoice! She’s got three songs out this year, making a comeback since 2009 with Immediately (當下, Dang Xia). Obviously, the East doesn’t give a flying fish about End of the Year lists or the Holiday season, that’s why they keep releasing stuff- business like usual. xD
Sorry, US-based users. I was only able to find the songs on Xiami. I know, geoblocks suck. But, as far as I know, the songs aren’t available anywhere else -even on iTunes TW- because it seems like a Xiami exclusive release.–EDIT JAN 20–
I wasn’t aware that Mavis had added this free download link on her website.
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Crowd Lu’s Natural Is Best
Crowd Lu’s back! Two years after his military service with Natural Is Best (天然的最好, Tian Ran de Zui Hao) as a Happy Chinese typical Crowd Lu type of music to say goodbye to 2014 and welcome 2015. It’s a digital single (so I suppose there’s no album… yet), but there was supposed to be a concert in Yangming Shan (陽明山).
Actually, Crowd had released Becoming a Man (大人中) [clip] back in March, which you can get on iTunes.
Anyway~ Happy holidays, everyone!
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My Dad Welcomes Joe Cocker~
Joe Cocker was one of my dad’s favorite musicians, so I guess he’s now enjoying the music wherever they may be.
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Girls Who (Punk) Rock: Vi Är Bäst!
A double feature with Lukas Moodysson’s Vi Är Bäst! (We Are the Best!) and Nobuhiro Yamashita’s Linda Linda Linda. Because~ Why not? RIGHT?
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Jennifer Beals Appreciation
When visiting IMDb, you’re reminded that Jennifer Beals is turning 51. 51! The last time I saw her on TV was in her small role in Castle (which my mother loves), and I have to admit that I hadn’t follow through any of the actresses post-The L Word. And to be honest, I was much too preoccupied with Shane and her love life to care much for Bette.
But alas~ TCM Latin America has been running Flashdance quite a bit, on top of the numerous references to the movie this year (eg. Cuban Fury, Happy New Year), so I clicked on Beals name wondering what she’s been up to, and was eventually directed to this video of the Flashdance screening celebrating 30 years of the movie. I was shocked, she looked freaking amazing. Like- I’m even jealous of how good she looks in there. She even looks better on that clip than this photo from the event~
Most people need expensive lights to be well-lit and make you look like a million bucks. Jennifer Beals looks like ten million bucks in that poorly-lit shot for the fansite. I also wasn’t aware that she and my bias Olivia Thirlby had made a movie together. Now I have to find it.
