We Are the World (Chinese)
I heard something pretty interesting on the news, to say the least.
Because of the Tsunami tragedy out in Asia, the Hong Kong superstars are goinng to band together to produce a Chinese re-make of "We Are the World". The initiative is to raise funds to provide relief for the countries devastated by this horrific act by Mother Nature.
Some of the top HK celebrities involved are: Jackie Chan, Andy Lau (HOT) and Jacky Cheung (YAY!).
Believe it or not, Jackie Chan can really, really sing. Very well, in fact. Not only can he try to kick your ass, he's even produced a number of albums in the past 2 decades. [Notice that I stated 'try' - Jackie Chan studied entertainment fighting, which is not martial arts. Basically, Jet Li rules and can easily flip Jackie with his pinkie toe.]
The interesting thing about these mega celebrities in Asia is that they are incredibly talented. Unlike the Americans, in order to succeed and outshine your competition, one needs to be able to act, belt out original tunes or flip somebody out of the window with ease. Being a multi-dimensional in the entertainment industry allows these folks to survive on the market longer.
In the American culture, having an actor who can do it all is rare and even frowned upon. Then again, some of these actors/actresses who try and sing should shut their faces. Let's take Don Johnson, for example. He actually came out with a song called, "Heartbeat" in the 80's and it was worse than the one-hit wonders. In fact, when the chorus came on, it'd make your skin crawl. Because he was such a popular actor on 'Miami Vice' does not equate with being a talented singer. Uh-uh. No way.
But when you have someone who can do both it's a pleasant surprise. Although I haven't seen Moulin Rouge, critics did say Nicole Kidman could sing - after all she was in some girlie Aussie band before coming over to the States.
So...I will patiently wait to hear the Chinese rendition of "We Are the World". I dunno if I will like it, but if Hacken Lee (how the F#$% did he come up with this name?!?!) is a participant, I'm all ears. But wait, who's gonna do Cyndi Lauper's version? Oh my.
One thing that cracks me up about HK popstars - they come up with the most preposterous "English" names proving once for all, how they don't pay any attention in their English classes in school. How the F#$%@ they even pass their 'O' levels? Oh wait, they didn't...
Like there's one really HOT actor called Ekin Cheng. Originally his name was NOODLE Cheng. Yes, I kid you NOT. Of all fricking food groups, he was compelled to call himself after generic term for carbohydrates. Oy. Okay, in his defense, his Chinese name rhymes with E-Fu Noodles (an expensive pan-fried noodle dish), so everyone called him "Eee-Mein" for fun. Hence, Noodle Cheng. But to me, it sounds more like a name of a chinese restaurant out here in Chinatown.
Anyhoo, his 'English' name made him look like a moron and changed it - yes, brace yourself - DIOR. Yes, Dior. No, he was not a fan of Christian Dior, but it made him felt cooler 'cuz he decided to use a name from a designer brand. As if I would change my name from Linda to Gucci because it's designer.
Again, more ridicule. So...finally the good-looking, but not exactly bright dude, settles with 'Ekin'. Basically, stick with your original name that was phonetically transcribed in English.
Because of the Tsunami tragedy out in Asia, the Hong Kong superstars are goinng to band together to produce a Chinese re-make of "We Are the World". The initiative is to raise funds to provide relief for the countries devastated by this horrific act by Mother Nature.
Some of the top HK celebrities involved are: Jackie Chan, Andy Lau (HOT) and Jacky Cheung (YAY!).
Believe it or not, Jackie Chan can really, really sing. Very well, in fact. Not only can he try to kick your ass, he's even produced a number of albums in the past 2 decades. [Notice that I stated 'try' - Jackie Chan studied entertainment fighting, which is not martial arts. Basically, Jet Li rules and can easily flip Jackie with his pinkie toe.]
The interesting thing about these mega celebrities in Asia is that they are incredibly talented. Unlike the Americans, in order to succeed and outshine your competition, one needs to be able to act, belt out original tunes or flip somebody out of the window with ease. Being a multi-dimensional in the entertainment industry allows these folks to survive on the market longer.
In the American culture, having an actor who can do it all is rare and even frowned upon. Then again, some of these actors/actresses who try and sing should shut their faces. Let's take Don Johnson, for example. He actually came out with a song called, "Heartbeat" in the 80's and it was worse than the one-hit wonders. In fact, when the chorus came on, it'd make your skin crawl. Because he was such a popular actor on 'Miami Vice' does not equate with being a talented singer. Uh-uh. No way.
But when you have someone who can do both it's a pleasant surprise. Although I haven't seen Moulin Rouge, critics did say Nicole Kidman could sing - after all she was in some girlie Aussie band before coming over to the States.
So...I will patiently wait to hear the Chinese rendition of "We Are the World". I dunno if I will like it, but if Hacken Lee (how the F#$% did he come up with this name?!?!) is a participant, I'm all ears. But wait, who's gonna do Cyndi Lauper's version? Oh my.
One thing that cracks me up about HK popstars - they come up with the most preposterous "English" names proving once for all, how they don't pay any attention in their English classes in school. How the F#$%@ they even pass their 'O' levels? Oh wait, they didn't...
Like there's one really HOT actor called Ekin Cheng. Originally his name was NOODLE Cheng. Yes, I kid you NOT. Of all fricking food groups, he was compelled to call himself after generic term for carbohydrates. Oy. Okay, in his defense, his Chinese name rhymes with E-Fu Noodles (an expensive pan-fried noodle dish), so everyone called him "Eee-Mein" for fun. Hence, Noodle Cheng. But to me, it sounds more like a name of a chinese restaurant out here in Chinatown.
Anyhoo, his 'English' name made him look like a moron and changed it - yes, brace yourself - DIOR. Yes, Dior. No, he was not a fan of Christian Dior, but it made him felt cooler 'cuz he decided to use a name from a designer brand. As if I would change my name from Linda to Gucci because it's designer.
Again, more ridicule. So...finally the good-looking, but not exactly bright dude, settles with 'Ekin'. Basically, stick with your original name that was phonetically transcribed in English.
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I think the term you're looking for is "triple threat". She sings, she dances, she acts! It's gone full circle from the days where everyone in Hollywood was a triple threat, to nobody was, and now they're on the up again, though (Nicole Kidman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Uma Thurman, Renee Zellweger...)
One of the lead actresses is leaving EastEnders here - she just won a wildly popular TV show that's a ballroom dancing competition (believe me - your mother would have been glued to the television). She's leaving EastEnders to play whatsherface on stage in "Chicago" in London, which is appropriate because she can also belt 'em out, in a way that makes you feel like she just actually slapped you in the face. And having done theatre myself in high school, I'm glad to see people like that succeeding, because those are the true performers - "will sing/dance/act for food" - they didn't end up on TV because their dad played golf in Toluca Lake with the producer.
Anyway, here's my favorite comedy site on the web: http://www.engrish.com - it's a collection of mostly Japanese and also Chinese English. Some people take offense at it, but if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?
One of the lead actresses is leaving EastEnders here - she just won a wildly popular TV show that's a ballroom dancing competition (believe me - your mother would have been glued to the television). She's leaving EastEnders to play whatsherface on stage in "Chicago" in London, which is appropriate because she can also belt 'em out, in a way that makes you feel like she just actually slapped you in the face. And having done theatre myself in high school, I'm glad to see people like that succeeding, because those are the true performers - "will sing/dance/act for food" - they didn't end up on TV because their dad played golf in Toluca Lake with the producer.
Anyway, here's my favorite comedy site on the web: http://www.engrish.com - it's a collection of mostly Japanese and also Chinese English. Some people take offense at it, but if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?
PS if you ever want to post photos to your blog, email them to me and I'll upload them to my "selfish folder" on the csz server.
THIS SITE IS A BOMB!! WHAT A PISSER!!!
I see these products everyday of my life and would roll my eyes whenever I passed by the aisles. Seeing them in this site highlights the hysteria once again! Being so accustomed to the incorrect use of Engwish, especially when it takes place in your very own household! LOL
I see these products everyday of my life and would roll my eyes whenever I passed by the aisles. Seeing them in this site highlights the hysteria once again! Being so accustomed to the incorrect use of Engwish, especially when it takes place in your very own household! LOL
Was just thinking - when we honkies have family gatherings, the relatives you don't want to admit are yours are sittin' in the corner arguin' 'bout whether the World Wrestlin' Fed-er-ay-shun is real or fixed. Do the embarassing members of Chinese families argue over Jacky Chan vs Jet Li and what's real?
Over here, it ain't no different on the subject matter...it seems that the discussions revolving around WWF is prevalent even in our culture. They swear to god there's no way it's fixed!
For us Chinese families, the topics vary if your family was edumacated or not. On my side of the family, my mom's siblings are die hard fans of Socialist politics and the Mao's reign of terror. I learned a lot about the culture and history because they constantly refer back to the days of famine, suppression and foreign invasion. At every family gathering, they'd bring something up and make a full circle about it. Unfortunately when they get into heated discussions, the embarrassing folks love to trash anything and everything related to Hong Kong, thus the Jet Li (Mainland China) vs. Jackie Chan (Hong Kong) discussions. Socialism vs. Capitalism is really what comes down to it.
Meanwhile on the edumacated side (hubby's side), those folks argue over who has the dirtiiest laundry in the neighborhood. They'll even fess up their own skeletons in the closet to tops someone else's. Oy!!!
Mom's side of the family is enjoyably amusing. The in-laws are crude, so this where the convenience of pretending to be the ignoramus American comes in handy. One of the few advantages of switching identities!
For us Chinese families, the topics vary if your family was edumacated or not. On my side of the family, my mom's siblings are die hard fans of Socialist politics and the Mao's reign of terror. I learned a lot about the culture and history because they constantly refer back to the days of famine, suppression and foreign invasion. At every family gathering, they'd bring something up and make a full circle about it. Unfortunately when they get into heated discussions, the embarrassing folks love to trash anything and everything related to Hong Kong, thus the Jet Li (Mainland China) vs. Jackie Chan (Hong Kong) discussions. Socialism vs. Capitalism is really what comes down to it.
Meanwhile on the edumacated side (hubby's side), those folks argue over who has the dirtiiest laundry in the neighborhood. They'll even fess up their own skeletons in the closet to tops someone else's. Oy!!!
Mom's side of the family is enjoyably amusing. The in-laws are crude, so this where the convenience of pretending to be the ignoramus American comes in handy. One of the few advantages of switching identities!