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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

  • Currently Listening
    Waiting for You (Special Collectible Version) CD+DVD/Booket Package
    Listen to my Heart
    see related

    What Star Are You From?

    Star I've been dying to see the opening of this series again- ever since I started writing the screenplay and trying to figure out how to tell a story visually with the most impact. Even though What Star is on my must-acquire list, it keeps getting knocked down a spot or two by things I want more (like Wish with English subtitles, or the new Van Ness CD, or Secret with Jay Chou). It's been nearly impossible to find online to stream since the youtube uploader had her account yanked. Wandering through mysoju yesterday, I noticed that they claimed that What Star was fixed and was thrilled to watch the first episode again.

    A fairly typical Korean drama with Kim Rae Won and Jung Ryu Won, it tells the story of a film director who lost his first love and falls in love with her twin sister who was stolen as an infant and raised in the countryside. (See, I told you it was a typical storyline)... but it's far from typical in the techniques that it uses to tell this tale of love lost and found.

    Let's look at the first ten minutes of the series. The writers introduces the main characters, tells the backstory, and allows the two new love interest to meet and sets the tone for the rest of the series. But it's more than that. There's very little dialogue in the first ten minutes, but it's visually impacting and emotional. It's rare that you care about the main characters that quickly in any series. KRW does an absolutely incredible job as the heart sick director who doesn't know how to do life alone after his fiance dies and I don't know who shot the series, but the nuances of the emotions carries the opening. Ten minutes of film equals ten minutes of script in the States, but I suspect that it was five pages in Korean. Either way... this is the story I think that you could remake for American audiences. This is the story I'd love to rewrite someday.

    I think it's Kim Rae Won at his best, and Jung Ryu Won plays both the sophisticated girl and the country girl expertly. You never doubt her in either role and at times it feels like two different people are playing the characters. If you haven't seen it, go watch the first ten minutes at least and see if you think it's as amazing as I do.

    In other news... my Van Ness CDs are here so I'm legally lost in his sound and am watching the DVD. It totally annoys me that they only put clips of some of his MVs on it. They have plenty of space on the thing so why can't they play the whole music video???? So annoying!

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

  • Currently Listening
    Waiting for You (Special Collectible Version) CD+DVD/Booket Package
    Listen To My Heart
    see related

    吳建豪 Van Ness Wu, Fading Into You/ 我不是自己

    Van Ness Wu's New Music Video, from the best album "In Between".
    Directed By Jimmy Hung. Music by Terry Tye Lee, Vic Lau

    in between vanness wu

     Classic Van Ness

    This is my favorite style of his...

    This is as perfect as it gets...

    I've been playing this song non-stop

    My copies of this CD are in the mail and should be here next week... (can't wait!!!!!)

    I wish the whole CD had this sound.......

    maybe when he's finally free to make the music he wants to make....

    The playlist I found for this CD translates this song title

    "I'm Not Myself"

    but this title makes more sense to me...

    Not that I know....  I know it says "I am not something...."

    Decided to put the whole English version of the playlist here so I don't have to look for it...

    I love every song except "I Hate Myself"" which has a weird sound in it that makes me cringe.

    I wish there were more new songs, but I suspect that no matter how many new songs he puts out, I'll want more....

    01. 我不是自己 (I Am Not Myself)
    02. Lucky Me
    03. 自己的節奏 (My Own Pace)

    04. 我討厭我自己 (I Hate Myself)
    05.
    午夜場的電影 (Midnight Movie)
    06.
    零時差 (Zero Day)
    07.
    尋找茱麗葉 (Searching For Juliet)
    08.
    我的王國 (My Kingdom)
    09.
    放手 (Let Go)
    10.
    想像十個你 (Imagining Ten Of You)
    11. Never Let You Go
    12. Listen to Your Heart
    13.
    誰讓妳流淚 (Who Let You Cry)
    14.
    因為太愛你 (Because Of Loving You Too Much)
    15.
    媽媽 (Mother)

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

  • Currently Listening
    V.Dubb-Macho Edition
    see related

    In Between...

    in between vanness wu Found and Preordered!

    A combination of three new songs and his greatest hits, this is the last obligation that Van Ness has with this company. (I'm sure he has plans, but I don't know what they are... I do know that he wants to be with someone who loves and respects the music and musician, and I suspect he'll form his own company with that in mind, but it's pure speculation.)

    To be released in Taiwan on July 4th, he refers to it as his personal day of Freedom....

    It's been a pain in the butt finding a copy of it to preorder (unless I wanted to deal with Hong Kong banks, fan clubs, and crap like that).

    I finally e-mailed the CEO of yesasia two weeks ago to inquire why they didn't have it for preorder yet and when I checked today... there it was. (Wouldn't you think they'd have emailed me to say it was up??? They did answer my email with something that didn't make sense to me... so it's not like they can't do that!)

    Even with that... yesasia doesn't get copies until the 8th and I just got an email saying my copy isn't even being shipped until the 16th (which is three days AFTER it is supposed to have arrived).

    I really, really, really hate this part of having to order something on line. It took weeks for my first copy of V. Dubb to get to me last time. I'd found it online and downloaded it the day AFTER it was released, but it made me a bit sick to think it was so quickly available and the he was losing the sales- and the momentum. (Well, not from me because I actually bought two copies- I wear them out even if I burn them- and I preordered V. Dubb the day it became possible at yesasia. (I've ordered his music and movies from other places online and they have taken weeks... like 5 or 6... so I rely on yesasia).

    I thought about asking my friend in Taipei to get a copy and mail it to me, but it seems like a big imposition... just because I'm impatient... but it'd be here in a week... seven days!!! not fifteen! (Maybe I'll email her after all!)

    I had this huge discussion last week about the voice of the Asian-American being missing in America's media scene. It wasn't until I talked about Van Ness and Lee Hom Wang leaving us to become International Stars who are still virtually rejected and unknown by their home that this brilliant African-American scholar began to listen seriously and not try to excuse it away. I left her a bit shaken as she had to step outside her knowledge base and comfort zone and think about what the effect of the missing voice was going to have on us as a culture and a society.

    Bring Them Home! I say it repeatedly... not that anyone is listening to me... Bring them home! We need them here. I need them here. I need to be able to walk into FYI and buy Van Ness' new CD the DAY it is released! Am I asking too much? Seriously?????

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

  • Currently Listening
    Remember I Love You
    see related

    ** Make A Wish Lyrics and Translation...

    Tears fall on your palm, sliding off like stars
    Don't be sad, it's OK. The world is still young
    Love, without wings, can fly into your heart
    Don't be scared, don't worry.
    Can't you feel it?
    This love is so strong.

    Will you make a wish, make a wish.
    Close your eyes.
    imagine a well of wishes
    Make a wish, make a wish
    You will hear echoes of sincerity
    Let us make a wish, make a wish
    promising to watch the most beautiful sights together
    All of these are not just a dream.

    Tears fall on your palm, sliding off like stars
    Don't be sad, it's OK. Our dreams are still young
    Love, without wings, can fly into your heart
    Don't be scared, don't worry.
    Can't you feel it?
    This love is so strong.

    Will you make a wish, make a wish.
    Close your eyes.
    imagine a well of wishes
    Make a wish, make a wish
    You will hear echoes of sincerity
    Let us make a wish, make a wish
    promising to watch the most beautiful sights together
    All of these are not just a dream.

    Make a wish, make a wish
    You will hear echoes of sincerity
    Let us make a wish, make a wish
    promising to watch the most beautiful sights together
    All of these are not just a dream.
    If only you'll believe, with all your heart.

    translation from here... thanks!

    Dang lei si liu xing
    Hua guo shou xin
    Wo bu jin

    Bie shang xin
    Bu you jin
    Zhe ge shi jie hai nian qing
    (Wo men de meng hai nian qing)

    Ai mei you chi bang
    Ye neng fei xing dao ni xin
    Bie hai pa
    Bie dan xin
    Nan dao ni mei gan ying
    Zhe ai qing
    Hao jian ding

    Will you make a wish
    Make a wish
    Bi shang yan jing
    Yuan wang shi kou jing
    Make a wish
    Make a wish
    ni hui ting jian zhen cheng de hui yin

    Rang wo men Make a wish
    Make a wish
    Yi qi yue ding kan zui mei feng jing
    Zhe yi qie dou bu hui shi,Meng jing

    Zhi you ni quan xin quan yi xiang xin


    **Just realized I still have a ton of stuff from jerjonji2 to move over, so I'll be doing that over the next couple of days... and then I can finally shut it down!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

  • Currently Listening
    V.Dubb-Macho Edition
    My Kingdom
    see related

    Top Ten Taiwanese Dramas...

     mike he bullfighting This list stays mostly the same. The bottom three or four might change and I only list series that I've completed so things like "Fated to Love You" and "Wayward Kenting" and "Express Boy" would be on it, but I haven't finished them.

    Unfortunately, I might never finish Express Boy since the fan subber has stopped subbing it and my chinese isn't good enough to complete it.

    So... here's my list...

    1. MARS with Vic (my intro to twdrama and F4 and the best translation of a beloved manga to series ever!)
    2. Silence with Vic Zhou
    3. The Rose with Joe Cheng
    4. The Devil Beside You- Mike He at his bad boy best and while I read the manga afterwards, the series didn't ruin it for me.
    5. Bullfighting with Mike He again... Mike plays basketball nearly every episode!
    6. Peach Girl with Van Ness... I hated the manga but actually loved the storyline in this. The writers did a great job and Van Ness learned to act in it. You could see him improving week by week... which was awesome... plus he does an old American song in the first ten minutes.van-blue-4
    7. Queens... just pure fun
    8. Corner with Love with Barbie and Show Luo... light hearted, but nearly perfect
    9. My Lucky Star with Jimmy Lin
    10. Shao Nian Yan Jian Jiang or Young Warriors with Eddie Peng and Peter Ho... forty three episodes, but the ending is worth every hour you invested in it!

    I'm off to the pool for water aerobics. I'll add links and stuff later tonight or tomorrow! :)

asianmediaxplosion

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    • Name: jerjonji
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About Me

  • I am passionate about all kinds of asian media... spoilers will be here! If that bugs you, don't read here. You've been warned. Plus, I like whom I like. You don't have to like them, and I'm open to dialogue, but I still like whom I LIKE... and Like is a good thing.

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