Archives For china

When I was in Taiwan… in one of those nights I used to watch the news, I remember watching one note where they were talking (or, I guess… complaining) about how some “people” of the communist party where loaded with money, so MUCH money that women were able to showcase their Marc Jacob bags (priced at $20k USD apparently). The guilty parties? Gong Li and Song Zuying.

Bitch, please. Those two can afford their own Marc Jacob purses. They’re divas. They may be part of the party… because — come on, who DOESN’T belong to the party? You gotta be part of it to be a working actor or musician.

And if those two don’t buy their own purses, they get them as gifts. That’s how life is for this kind of people. No need to make it news-worthy complaining about the loaded communists. LOL

ANYWAY. I “met” Song Zuying when she performed at the Beijing Olympics (like ALL the other artists I met in that event — 谢谢,北京~). She sang with Placido Domingo and I totally heard her name, thinking she was Korean — come on, it totally sounds Korean when you sound it out~ xD Afterwards, I’ve seen her in several CCTV events and eventually got accustomed to her voice. She’s one of those people you just gotta WATCH when she performs live.

One of my favorite songs of hers is Love my China (爱我中华) — which some translate as (I’m looking at you CCTV) Our Love for China or I Love China — don’t be fooled. It’s Love my China and it’s about the 56 ethnicities in China and how they all sing their love for the country. It’s a VERY patriotic song, like… too much. But it’s so freaking catchy. Specially in the CCTV broadcast where I first heard it.

Her performance is the quality of Madonna LOL — it’s a big performance, almost unlimited budget coz it’s for the party… and Song Zuying may lack the sex quality Madonna has (because, COME ONE~), but she totally has that air of a magnificent diva. You may not like her political option, but my gosh~ she’s fantastically classy.

She even does it with regular versions of the song with a western chorus and a western audience [1]. Her voice has a magnificent quality once you get accustomed to its tone. However, I like her the best when she goes full-on Chinese with me. LOL Like in this crazy big performance of Good Days (好日子) [1] she did for the 60th anniversary of China. It’s incredibly… sentiment rousing. Them Chinese patriotic songs are good. LOL

This is a superficial post on The Flowers of War.

You can also check my post on propaganda films — Propaganda: Movies and their Message ~ and you are more than welcomed to flame me for liking “rubbish” films or liking China, whatever. LOL

I honestly liked The Flowers of War, it had its faults of course… as any and many a film does, but I totally think that the shameful 29% in RottenTomatoes is undeserved. It’s… with all my honesty and my unbiased, a solid 70%. All of that aside, wow– these are beautiful. If only the film could have been promoted with these pictures~

They’re the heroes~

I don’t remember when I first watched this clip, but I remember I saw just a bit of it — the first two lines — on CCTV. Maybe it was during the 10th anniversary of the Macao Handover, but I remember the little girl singing.. it was just that, and then they cut away. At that time, I spoke no word of Mandarin (or Cantonese, or any dialect),my mother was watching with me as she listened to it and translated. She turned and told me “you know my name is not Macau, that is not my name.” — A sudden rush of emotions came over me.

I have no idea why that line was so powerful to me, I literally had to go to my room because I felt a little dust bugging me and my tears forming.

There’s another version here, just in case. And the audio on 1ting.com

That was then. I have no idea what got me tonight — must be The Flowers of War business, I always get like this when I read a lot of negative press against China since the Olympics LOL. Anyway, I went on a hunt for that song because I didn’t know what it was called, and my mother didn’t grow up in China singing it so she had no idea it was a popular children’s song.

Called the Song of the Seven Sons – Aomen (七子之歌-澳门)… apparently there’s a Taiwan version as well, but it’s not as hip [1]. I thought there might be 7 versions of the song for different regions that were part of China or something xD

Anyway, a really GOOD translation of the lyrics is hard to find, but I managed to find a good one without doing any translating work (because I’m so lazy like that) but a lot of googling. Chinese, pinyin and translations after the break!

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I love it when I listen to songs that I find translations easily. xD

It’s good to sing along to too! So I have the pinyin with who sings what to sing along to easily xD

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Man, BiBi is even looking cool from behind the scenes…

she’s really grown into her image.

Bibi for Men’s Uno

November 12, 2011 — Leave a comment

I guess we got two posts related to Bibi in a row. Let’s just say it’s to celebrate the release of her latest studio album, which I am calling… for the lack of a proper English title, Dark.Select.Clear

I really really LOVE this dirty photoshoot. I dunno about the awkward standing looking at the camera one, but the rest are pretty good. Okay, maybe not the holding the rocks ones either… but the rest exude sex appeal, something I’ve always felt was lacking in the photoshoots or performances she’s been doing…

Which only means one thing. You know that one thing that you notice in someone’s eye. It’s the glitter that suddenly sparks after you do that something. That something’s happened. Bibi’s got that look now.

Bibi for HotSpot

November 12, 2011 — Leave a comment

I ran into these kinda high resolution images of Bibi’s turn out over HotSpot, which look positively rocking. I don’t think Bibi’s ever looked as cool promoting an album since I found out about her.

First Elle China, then this… then there’s Men’s Uno, which I should find bigger resolution versions of that photoshoot, because that one is cool too.

This is my favorite shot xD

I gotta admit. I got a little choked up with this music video, and I’m totally pumped for Sodagreen’s upcoming new album… also titled What is Troubling You (你在煩惱什麼) — which, I have to admit~~~ comes at a bad time when Bibi is coming up with her new album and the Brown Eyed Girls are coming up with her nifty-licious repackaged Sixth Sense.

Did I tell you? I pre-ordered Sixth Sense and I ate it up like a sucker.

What makes me even more of a sucker, however, is that I had just pre-ordered the repackaged version too. Alongside Bibi’s new album.

Anyway, this new wonderfully sad and strangely uplifting music video comes from the brilliant mind of Muh Chen Yi Ren, from GrassJelly Studio — who also worked on my favorite Sodagreen MV… Incomparable Beauty [MV]. When these two get together, they make magic.

The lyrics seem… simple. I mean there’s not much lyrics… but I’m having issues with the double negative hahaha. I guess this is going to be my next Chinese class then!

Pinyin will do until then!

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Ooh la la, Gong Li.

You look positively flawless.

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BiBi for Elle China

September 17, 2011 — 1 Comment

I never, in my life, would’ve thought that I would ever post a photoshoot featuring BiBi. Alas, here it is at the heels of promoting a new album and a new single — Black Apple [1] — BiBi looking quite fashion.

I can almost hear her BiBi laugh in this picture.

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