Reply to Sara part 2 May 16, 2008

In reply to my reply to her she says:

 

I just said thanks for calling ELFs insane because I am one. Calling more than 10 million people (official and unofficial, hight percentage of ELFs are unofficial like me) insane don’t you think thats a little bit too harsh. BTW, SuJu fans are all over the world so not all of them can be criticized as being the same. I said that because I am from UK and I’m neither Korean or Chinese so I don’t know who Leehom is or se7en.
BTW, I didn’t know my comment was that important. Thanks by the way for making that list.

 

Sorry if you’re offended. But for the thousandth time, this isn’t an unbiased blog to provide news and whatnot. This blog is opinionated, so what do you expect? I write to satisfy my own needs to give my opinions. So I’m not going to sugar-coat my words to make other people happy. So yes, your comments are important because they’re your opinions and if I have something to say in response, I will say it.

 

If you read my entry, you would know that, although I didn’t specify any nationalities or ethnicities, I don’t completely generalize every fan. I have met some that are down-to-Earth and have their priorities in order. But I do believe that many of them these days need to get lives. I have met many people who get sucked into fandom, and I’m sure that if it weren’t for location restraints, they would be just as horrifically obsessed as any fan on the other side of the globe. I’m not saying they’re bad people either, they just need to mature and get their lives in order.

 

And it doesn’t matter if you don’t know Leehom or SE7EN. (Although, you should because their music is wonderful but David Tao is my hero for life.) I’m using them as examples because their fans are older and, in my opinion, better conducted. I mean, not all of them are angels, but they’ve behaved a lot more nicely than fans these days. Basically, I’m comparing the old to the new and seeing it as declining maturity in people as time moves on, which I see in many aspects of life but I’m focusing on this one. And I’m not just centering it on ELFs, but they have gotten out of hand quite a number of times which makes them fine specimens for this argument.

 

Well, I’m not saying that you can’t comment back because your opinions are your opinions and mine are mine. Go ahead. But you can’t expect me to be nice just because you think I’m “too harsh.” The world doesn’t work that way. You’re lucky Chenzi doesn’t write here much, she’s brutal but I think she’s almost one of those “insane” fans (if she wasn’t such a cheapskate lol).

 

Please do comment if you have more opinions. That’s not sarcasm, either. I don’t do sarcasm.

Reply to sara May 15, 2008

sara commented my most recent topic about Leehom and Zhou Mi:

 

Thanks about the compliment of being insane.

 

And my reply is, no problem.

 

Frankly, I think they are insane. The majority at least. And if you can acknowledge that, then good. If you’re in denial, keep reading.

Donating to China Earthquake Relief May 15, 2008

Someone already started a small donation box at school today. I never managed to run into him unfortunately. But my friend was very passionate about it and donated five whole dollars. I suggest that people either donate to their school’s fund, start their own if there is none, or just individually donate to the Red Cross. Forget the political and economic blahblahblah, worry about the kids who could be a better future for China. Where there is bad, there’s still good, so we can’t condemn the victims because of the bad people we hear about all the time.

 

http://www.ifgogo.com/ - This is a blog with charity information, but just as a fair warning, there are some pictures which are not visually graphic but pretty heavy on the heart. 

 

You can also go to the website of your country’s Red Cross and donate there. 

 

Then there is Jet Li’s The One Foundation.

 

No matter what charity you decide to donate to, I think people should make an effort before it’s too late. A few days may have passed since the earthquake, but we still have the chance to save lives.

SJM Interview Stirs Up Semi-Scandal Part 2 May 14, 2008

 

I was reading this post on Soompi, and I just have to say…I expected it, unfortunately. The post provides this link to a blog entry regarding the mishap. According to that blog, since Zhou Mi ran his mouth, Leehom has been getting criticism from netizens. In response, Leehom fans searched for the video of that event from several years (provided in the blog entry) and revealed the truth. Leehom had an upcoming concert and wasn’t supposed to sing at events prior to it; thus, he invited Zhou Mi on stage to sing. Now Leehom fans hope that Zhou Mi will give an apology.

 

I hate fandom for this, especially because they believed a newbie and lost faith in one of the most well-established singers in Asia. Now all these netizens think Leehom’s some kind of cheater when we know he’s definitely not. You’d think that after having tons of Leehom’s high school/college songs online and a 14-year long career, everybody would know what his voice sounds like and that nobody’s behind the scenes providing his voice. 

 

And you know, Leehom fans didn’t even want to make a big deal out of this because it really is just a newbie mistake - everybody makes mistakes, especially newbies. I’m tired of hearing about Super Junior’s insane fans doing something stupid. They haven’t done many smart things in comparison to their stupidity. And yes, I AM comparing their fans.

 

So let’s just leave the thing alone. We know the truth now. Just know that we can’t believe EVERYTHING someone says and maybe also a little thing or two about interviews.  

 

PS: Don’t use this entry as “news.” If you must, refer to the links I provided in the beginning.

 

Have a nice, stupidity-free day.

Misconceptions of Buddhism May 12, 2008

Since the recent earthquake in China, there were TONS of anti-China messages all over videos and stuff about the earthquake. First of all, it’s rude. Be mad at the government, go ahead. I’m not disagreeing with you. But innocent people are dying, and you’re just sitting back on your fat ass, laughing in satisfaction. That’s inhumane and disgusting to the least bit, and I can sure as hell compare that way of thinking to the corrupt Chinese that you just put down.

Some really ignorant people were stating that this is the wrath of Buddha and this is what China gets for not freeing Tibet. I have nothing against Free Tibet but I don’t feel educated enough to have an opinion as of now. But what they said just really didn’t make any sense to me in terms of religion. Only an ignorant fool would say something like that.

If you haven’t guessed, I’m Buddhist. I’m not exactly strongly Buddhist because with every religions, there are things that I disagree with but I do agree with Buddhist more than any other philosophy. So I do get kind off annoyed when people shoot their mouths about Buddhism as if there was one Buddha in the position of G-d who smites people when they do wrong things.

1. There is more than one Buddha. If you can find Nirvana (a state of mental enlightenment, freedom from all suffering, and the highest form of happiness), you are a Buddha.

2. A Buddha doesn’t feel wrath. Wrath is a destructive emotion that spawns from anger. I did read somewhere that “wrath” in Buddhism is more of a way that helps one through negative obstacles, but it’s, in no situation, a way of dealing with things violently.

3. A Buddha is not our version of G-d. Yes, I type G-d that way out of respect for my Christian, Catholic, Jewish, etc friends. In Buddhism, we believe that there is no central creator but rather, our thoughts are what create the world. I found this on Wikipedia:

We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.

Dhammapada, 1-1.3

Think in our point of view for a moment. Assume that G-d and all else comes from our thoughts. G-d is our creator but if He is a manifestation of our thoughts, then our thoughts are actually the true creator. But it isn’t that we don’t believe that there aren’t any supernatural forces out there, we just don’t give it a specific form or address it in any way.

Now, I may not completely believe that G-d may exist but I still show my respect for Him because a person has the right to make their own decisions. I’m not only saying that because I’m an American but I’m also saying that because Buddhism teaches me to accept other people’s choices in their own journeys. And yes, I have tried finding myself in Christianity before by going to Bible club once a week but I just didn’t agree with it too much. So you know, even if you don’t agree with some things, you should stomp it into the dirt.

So Buddha isn’t G-d. Siddhārtha Gautama, a Buddha, is our teacher. He was born a man, was raised as a man, and died a man. So when we pray to him, we aren’t worshipping him. We’re asking him for guidance and thanking him for teaching us. I suppose he’s sort of like G-d, but we see him more as a man who’s reached a level of perfection that we must look to as our role model.

And no offense to people who are ”praying to Buddha” that the earthquake victims are okay, he can’t exactly do anything. You have to help those people on your own. The journey of a Buddhist is an individual journey, the teachings of a Buddha can guide you, but you must take the path yourself. Basically, you can never rely on a higher being, you need to take initiative yourself.

4. Buddha doesn’t punish sinners. From what I know, G-d protects good people, forgives those who admit their sins and seek His guidance, and punishes evil. A Buddha doesn’t serve that purpose. We believe in karma, which is more of a “cause and effect” philosophy where all deeds come with consequences whether they are good or bad. I suppose if you’re nonreligious you would see this more as a version of the “just-world hypothesis.”

So next time you reference a religion you don’t understand or talk about Buddhism like that when you’re a Free Tibet supporter (Tibetans have a version of Buddhism), do your homework, stay in school, and don’t go shooting your mouth.

7.8 Earthquake Shakes China May 12, 2008

The earthquake start on May 12th in the afternoon (early morning for me). It is reportedly the biggest earthquake in 58 years to hit China. Sichuan was hit the hardest and the death toll is up to 9000. The earthquake was so severe that the people of Beijing could feel the tremors and civilians of Vietnam had to be evacuated out of their buildings as well.

Here’s a video during the earthquake:

I hope that these families can stay strong through this and that the lost souls can eventually find their ways and rest in peace.

Reply to Keir May 12, 2008

Keir left this comment under my entry “Linking to Hong Dou”:

 

Sounds like someone I know here in China. I went to check out the site that’s linking to you guys but it’s a music download site and requires a membership to access. How did you manage to see your writing on that site?

 

I only saw a sample credited to another name and linked to my blog. And if you’re concerned that I’m a member of that website, I’m not. I don’t join suspicious websites. I only know that they linked to me because my dashboard says so. But really, what are your intentions of asking me that?

The Rain And Colbert Dance Off May 6, 2008

Yes, I stayed up past my bedtime and caught it last night! If you missed it, check it out here: http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/videos.jhtml?videoId=156555

 

I must say, I still love Rain’s butt. The man screams “sexy” all over. xD Yeah, I’m not really a fan, but I think he’s gotta be one of the hottest men alive next to Leehom Wang. Even his one line, “I don’t think so,” blew me away. I will definitely watch Speed Racer now.

SJM Interview Stirs Up Semi-Scandal May 6, 2008

If you take a look at this video and the comments below it, you’ll know what I’m talking about:

 

 

A basic summary is: Zhou Mi mentioned in the interview that when Leehom was having contract problems, he had to shorten his performance and so Zhou Mi sang for him. However, his wording made is sound as though he was singing backstage while Leehom lip-synched on stage to Zhou Mi’s voice. Of course, Zhou Mi fans were slightly shocked that Leehom would “take credit” for a voice that wasn’t his. Next to that, they were excited because their ZM is comparable to Leehom. In response, long-term Leehom fans got enraged because now Leehom looks like a cheater despite his fourteen years of hard work in the music industry.

 

To clarify things, it was a misunderstanding, period.

 

First of all, Zhou Mi sounds nothing like Leehom. He’s a good singer but he doesn’t sound like Leehom. 

 

Second of all, what really happened was that Leehom had contract problems and had to cut his performance short so he invited Zhou Mi to sing. Nowhere did Zhou Mi mention lip-synching. In fact, some fan accounts say that both of them were standing on stage together. Others say Zhou Mi was on stage while Leehom was backstage. If what the scandal-starters assumed was true, it wouldn’t make sense. Leehom would still have the contract problem, and if it were his face lip-synching on stage, that would probably still violate his contract.

 

And most importantly, Leehom fans like me know that he would never do that. It’s not like I know him personally but all the news articles about him and his activities show me that he has a lot of professional integrity. My favorite story was when he rejected a spot in Madame Tussaud’s wax museum because he felt he wasn’t accomplished enough. He’s diligent and he doesn’t stand on people to get ahead in life, even if it’s just for a moment. Besides, the only times I’ve ever heard of him lip-synching was when he had to do dancing on stage. He rarely dances, he’s no SE7EN, so of course it’ll be hard for him to sing and dance simultaneously. But it’s always his voice, no one else’s. Other than those circumstances, he doesn’t lip-synch.

 

I suppose that this is either due to someone’s carelessness in translating Zhou Mi’s words, or Zhou Mi didn’t word his answer correctly. This little mix up put Leehom fans and Zhou Mi fans against each other for a few hours, but I’m sure Leehom can forgive and forget, so let’s do that.

 

Video Credit: symbelmyn @ YouTube

 

Rain and Colbert to dance off on Monday May 5, 2008

 

Just which Monday? That’s either tonight or some other monday. But we’ve all been waiting for this day so be sure to catch it!

 

For those who don’t know about this “feud,” here’s what been going on. American satirist, comedian, and writer Stephen Colbert and S.Korean pop singer Rain have been “butting heads” ever since Rain came in first right ahead of Colbert in Time 100: The World’s Most Influential People of poll. Of course, it’s all on Colbert’s comedy show The Colbert Report and it’s basically been free promo for Rain in America. This year, Rain did not make first place but still came ahead of Colbert. So to finally put an end to their rivalry, they will have a dance off on The Colbert Report. Be sure to catch it on Comedy Central at 11:30P/10:30C this Monday or any Monday. Maybe even Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Just don’t miss this!

 

Check out this link for details: http://www.nofactzone.net/?p=3652

 

And this video for laughs:

 

 

Oh and this is our 100th post! Woot woot! Yay Hong Dou!

 

Video credit: hyuncita @ YouTube