The Soong Sisters - A totally amazing film!!

Last night I saw The Soong Sisters, or Song Jia Huang Chao. No, this is not a new movie, it's 10 years old, in fact. It's new to me though! As a fan of Michelle Yeoh, it's a title that I've had on my movie-list for a long time. Finally I've seen it and I was very impressed! I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in Chinese history, Taiwanese independence, or also to folks who just enjoy excellent cinema in general.

The story is about China during the early-to-mid 1900s when the time of true imperialism was ending to make way for a new era of intense political strife between the Communist Party and the Nationalist Party. The focus of the story was centered around the three sisters of the Soong family; the daughters of Charlie Soong, a prominent Shanghai businessman and Christian missionary. The three daughters, Ai-ling (Michelle Yeoh), Ching-ling (Maggie Cheung) and Mei-ling (Vivian Wu), after going to school in the U.S., grew up to marry the richest, most powerful and influential men in their time-- Premier of the Republic of China (H.H. Kung), the Father of Modern China and first President of the Republic of China, (Sun Yat-sen) and military leader and succeeding President, (Chiang Kai-shek), respectively. These woman soon went on to develop qualities of wealth, power and influence all on their own, and were first in revealing to China the face of the modern, independent woman. Together as sisters, and also separated through political difference, the three women were at the center of the most powerful family in all of China, and quite possibly the world.

This fascinating, intense and totally engrossing film takes its audience through a close-up and personal journey through the lives of the Soong extended family and explores the interaction of those at the very top of 20th century China's government and financial heirarchy. United as one China, then torn apart by civil war and finally invaded by Japan, the country was in the hands of the Soong family throughout its period of complex political upheaval, desperate search for national identity and intense struggle for financial independence. This is a masterpiece of Hong Kong Cinema that offers something for every kind of viewer to enjoy.

What is Mo-e?

 

Mo-e (pronounced moe-AY, and most commonly-spelled, Moe), is a Japanese slang word referring to fetish or love for characters in video games or anime and manga. This commonly extends to cute chicks in uniform, too, such as nurses, maids, flight attendants and schoolgirls. These are some photos I took in Tokyo's own Akihabara, or "Electric Town." While reviewing these photos, shortly after taking them, a failure to keep my big mouth shut resulted in my 2-year-old niece, Riko-chan, repeating "Mo-e, mo-e, mo-e!" while giggling and looking to see if she had won my approval. Oops! Heh....

Badass Bloggers

This is the end of an era. The time of mainstream, corporate media calling all the shots and telling us how we should think and feel about the world is passing, giving rise and influence to an information source that was once considered underground. I'm talking, of course, about the Bloggers and other publicly-private internet media sources. During the evolution of this "information age," there has been a transformation toward a new age of knowledge and free-information-sharing. This new age is very empowering for individuals who most often share a common perspective with other individuals who probably don't get what the want from Rupert Murdoch's giants.

We no longer need to bother with the globalised, tainted news-pushers serving to uphold the agendas of the mega-corporations that fund them. Instead we can go straight to the PEOPLE themselves-- isn't this where news comes from anyway? Big UPs to some of the koolest and most influential bloggers out there; thanks for inspiring me to start my own! Check these guys out!!

http://www.dannychoo.com
http://www.stapledesign.com/jeffstaple
http://www.joshspear.com
http://tokyobunnie.blogspot.com

Adult Swim F's Up Saturday Night!

For several years, Saturday Night has been the primary motivation for owning a television set. Saturday Night on Cartoon Network is "Anime Night" featuring back-to-back airings of the best in Animated TV Series from Japan, starting with CN's "Toonami" line-up and moving on into the shows presented by their evening entertainment host, Adult Swim. I have always been a big fan, and have been continuously impressed and delighted by their choices of programming. Sadly, after all this time, however, Adult Swim has decided to ruin Saturday Night.

The horribly disappointing news came to me in the form of an almost-insulting advertisement boasting "a Saturday Night that 'doesn't suck.'" It was the first time I ever found myself feeling discontented and put-off by Adult Swim programming. The new program line-up will feature episodes of Harvey Birdman, Venture Brothers, and Frisky Dingo immediately after the CN Toonami shows. Harvey Birdman, Venture Brothers, and Frisky Dingo on Saturday Night? Hmmm.... Frankly, *THIS* sounds like a Saturday that sucks, especially when one considers that first of all, these programs are shite, and secondly that our favourite programs are now going to be aired considerably later.

What's worst of all is the fact that including these three ridiculous shows in the Saturday Night Line-up has caused long-time favourties Full Metal Alchemist and Samurai Champloo to get bumped off the Saturday Night lineup completely. This is in fact saddening since Samurai Champloo is clearly one of the finest and most encaptivating Anime series ever produced, especially in comparison to those former three.

I don't know what the hell these guys are thinking. I am certainly not alone in my disappointment having read through the posts on the adult swim website forums. I hope they realise the huge mistake they've made and reconsider this terrible decision. God help them if they even think about messing with the best Animated series ever-- Death Note.

West Coast / Pacific Rim Flava comes to Chi City

If you're like me and enjoy urban art, streetwear, kool toys from Asia and one-of-a-kind kicks, A.Okay Official is the place for you! As far as I can tell, this store is the only one like it in this fine city and it's a *really* fun place to shop and hang out. Inside the shop you can enjoy shopping for the latest vinyl figure toys and clothes designed by local Chicago artists. You'll also meet some kool peeps and check out the street art while hearing some fresh beats-- this is one of my new favourite places to go!

A.Okay Official is on Clark Street, a block north of Belmont. Check 'em out on Friday, 15-Feb for a special event that will feature CTA Chicago Train Art and local urban artists. There aren't any other events like this in our city so don't miss this one!