So, I had two tickets to the Epik High.  I got to the venue, Fillmore Theatre, at Irving Plaza?  Place? at around 3:30 so I could make sure it was the right place.  And there was already a line of people that stretched down and around the corner.  I got in line and waited until my friend got there at around 5:30.  By then, Epik High had gotten there and went in, I think, because people started screaming and everyone stood up.  Of course, the doors opened late and it wasn’t until 8:00 did the concert start.
Before the concert started, though, there were free glow sticks from Verizon and a whole bunch of stuff for sale for Kero One, Far East Mocement and Epik High.  T shirts were $25, cell phone charms were $15, buttons were $3.  There were towels and albums and other stuff, but I don’t remember the prices.  I wanted a t shirt, but it was a little too much for my wallet.  My friend bought a button and a phone charm, though.  Man, $15 for a phone charm.  It was really nice, though.
Since I was one of the people who was in the middle of the longass line, I would have been stuck in the middle of the standing crowd.  There was the general admission standing audience on the floor, and the VIPs were upstairs and one half had chairs and tables and the other half was standing also, but they had a way better view from the railings.  People were pushing and the bass was so intense I was already getting a headache, you could really feel the bass, I thought it was making my heart beat in time with it, my chest vibrated so much.
So, since it was already starting to stink and it was way too hot and humid for me, I went to the bar and got a cup of ice.  I stayed there for the whole concert.  It was a damn good spot.  Because I was far away, I didn’t have to crane my neck to look at the stage, and there was a huge mirror behind the bar with a flat screen also, so basically, I had it good.  I could see the performances rather well with thte mirror and the closeups on the screen, plus the bar was the only place that was cool, if you took 5 steps away from the bar, a wave of heat and the scent of sweat just hit you hard.
The MC started with ‘Make some noise!’ and all that.  I totally never caught his name, which is sad because he said it at least three times before Epik High came out.  Well, he introduced Kero One, first.
Kero One had a bad mic, and the bass was still way intense, because I just couldn’t hear his words.  He had a nice female vocalist, though.  I could hear half of what she was singing.
Then, when Kero One finished, a dude in a space suit came out and then the rest of Far East Movement came out.  They did a whole thing with time travel and music is dead in 3008 and NYC is the only place to find enough energy to keep music alive.  It was corny, but cute, and the whole space suits thing was just funny.  And they threw shoes and towels and water at the crowd.
Then Epik High came out.  DJ Tukutz came out to his turnstile first.  Tablo and Mithra and MYK came out, too.  MYK beatboxed and Tablo said it was the hottest room he’d ever been in.  Which I think is very true.    And then he asked Mithra, and Mithra kind of grunted and Tablo laughed and asked him, “What was that?  That was like a bear.”  And then he asked Tukutz how it was for him and Tukutz replied with, “Its cool.”
I don’t really remember everything for the first half of their show, because I only know their really popular songs.  But, the second half was everything I knew.  They sang One, One Love, Love, Love, Love, and then said they had to go.  That was at 10:30, and you know the show’s not over, yet.  Of course, the crowd chanted for an encore.  And the stage stays dark while Table just chants into his mic, “Epik High, Epik High, Encore, Encore’ with everyone else.
The lights come on and out they come.  They did two songs with MYK, which are in their Lost Map demo album that you get with an Epik High item purchase.  Then they sang their last song:  Fan.  The energy during that finale was amazing.  Everyone was jumping but me and the bartenders.  I bounced a bit, though.  I’d had a lot of water in the last three hours, I was not going to jump.
Then it was the end.

Has anyone seen the U.S. version of BoA’s Eat You Up single, yet?  I mean, when I saw it, I was totally blown away.

Asia Vers.  youtube credit:  BoAfan17901

U.S. Vers youtube credit:hellokitty92495

The dancing, the emotion, the scenery, the outfits, the settings.  What more could you expect for the Best of Asia?  You could tell just how much time and effort was put into this production.  It was remarkably awesome.  And inspiring.  The entire concept was out of this world.

Can anyone sense the extreme sarcasm?  Don’t get me wrong, it really was remarkably awesome.  And its true you can see the amount of time and effort, as well as skill, put into it.

Its remarkable in the amount of suckage that ran through the entire MV.  Its awesome that such an awful vid even saw the light of day, even more so that its going to be released to the American audience to promote the Best of Asia.  Is this for real?  This is BoA’s American debut.  Who hired the director?  Wasn’t LSM there through the whole planning and filming?  He ok’d this debacle?

This is what the American audience will see, and the reaction?  If I saw this and never knew BoA, I would be insulted beyond belief.  This is the Best of Asia?  This is all a highly paid production team and film crew could come up with to promote the Best of Asia?

Concept?  Was there a concept to this MV?  What was it?  BoA and dancing, I get.  BoA, two backdancers who look awkward in their tight clothing with taller and longer limbs contrasting with BoA’s shorter, baggier clothing; dancing in a windy, greyscale desert with a random moon?  I don’t get.

The vid was a mesh of random clips glued together in the hopes of … what?

Not only that, it only showed a fraction of BoA’s skills.  The camera angle almost never changed.  It was always filming at pretty much dead center.  You never saw her back or sides, you only saw her front.  That did not do her justice.

Can BoA redeem herself?  I doubt it.  The American audience is not going to think about even going on youtube to search BoA’s mv and happen to see the Asian version.  No, they’ll see the U.S. version, think it sucks, and think all Asians can’t make it in the U.S. because of this kind of shit production.

quick translation, credit chenzi @ hongdou.wordpress.com

hangeng

hi everyone, i am sj’s chinese member.  i am hangeng.  I have good news for everyone.  that is the 2008 SM global auditions.  Taking place in america and canada.  these auditions are to give all chinese, korean, or japanese with singing, acting, [something] abilities oppurtunities. the auditions are from sept 19 to oct 25.  registrations, etc can be found at www.smtown.com to learn more.  please, everyone participate.  also, please support me, sj and sm.  sm welcomes you [?]

henry’s

zhoumi

hello everyone, i am sjm’s member zhoumi.  sm’s biggest auditions are beginning this fall.  we’ll be visiting america, canada, and 8 other countries to choose.  the catagories are:  singers, actors, models, dancers, and lyricist’s/composers.  if you fall into any of these catagories, please participate in the auditions.  we begin on sept 19 and end on oct 25.  please search triple w dot smtown.com for more information.  now, no matter if you’re chinese, korean, or japanese, you can participate in our auditions.  lastly, i hope you all will participate, and support us- sjm -.  this is zhoumi, thank you.

I’m watching the Olympics Closing Ceremony and I was really excited to finally watch Leehom Wang on American television. It was only for a few seconds though, and even though I like Rain, for some reason I wasn’t happy that he was there. I can’t explain myself without sounding racist, which I’m not. And I was a tad disappointed that they weren’t introduced…not even as “Asia’s most prominent pop stars.” No. But whatever, I saw them, and I’m semi-satisfied.

Who is this Weiwei? The so-called most popular Chinese pop star? She was the only Chinese singer that was introduced. She looked like the lady in a crazy pink dress and I was kind of disappointed because it makes me feel that Americans will just think Chinese singers are insane since she was the only singer that got any decent screen time.

Well, hoorah…

Yes, I’ve been gone pretty much the whole summer.

I think this summer was one of the best though. I made new friends and rekindled old ones, and I found a new love. My summer is ending on a high note. Now I’m jammin’ to Jason Mraz and enjoying life.

Since I’m over my boyband phase, I think I’ll be typing a lot less about them, and more about stuff that I don’t want most of my friends and boyfriend to see. But before I start, who saw the opening ceremony of the Olympics? Awesome YES?! That Zhang Yimou’s got skills!

Once I get my typing mojo back, I’ll come back to type. Have a nice day!

Avatar: The Last Airbender aired its finale episode on Saturday. And yes, I had a little shindig with my pal. We had spagetti and Rita’s waterice.

Well, at the end of the series, a lot of people had problems (as with everything). I’m not saying that I’m right but I always think what’s done is done. Anyways, here are some of the disappointments I heard after the series ended and the responses I have for them (warning: contains spoilers). Be aware that my responses are just my opinions:

1. What about Zuko’s mom? This seems to be the biggest question. Honestly, Ursa is not all that important of a character. I believe her main purpose is character development. So really, it’s not necessary for us to see her in the end. We just need to know that Zuko knows her whereabouts. We can assume that he knows when he visits his father in prison. Although, we never heard Ozai’s answer, we can assume that Zuko did and gained closure. And seriously, if you did hear Ozai’s answer, you’d want the animators to draw up a few more frames just so you can see them reunite. It’d be nice, but not necessary. It’s just better not to fill your head with too much new info right before the show ends.

2. Why does Iroh see spirits? I don’t know. Same reason why he can go to the Spirit World? Maybe he’s enlightened. It’s definitely not important, though. I think it shows his flexibility with the world and everything accepts him in return.

3. Did Azula really have to go insane? She was probably insane to begin with. She’s a perfectionist and yearns for attention from her parents. But you know, the world isn’t perfect and her dad’s a jackass. Therefore, she had to go insane. I read something interesting on Facebook. Azula’s hair sort of symbolizes her strength and when a hair is out of place, her strength deteriorates. She says earlier that she can’t have a hair out of place, but again, perfection is impossible.

4. What happened to Azula? She went to prison, duh! Where else would she go?

5. Will there be no more Air Nomads after Aang? How will the Avatar cycle continue? I assume Aang will have children some day. There’s a chance that his kids will be Air Nomads. I have a feeling that the Air Temples won’t be able to rebuild themselves though, unless Aang does it single-handedly. Future Air Nomads, if any, would probably assimilate with some other nation.

6. Are they making any more episodes? No. Surprising us by airing a new episode after telling us that Sozin’s Comet was the last is stupid. It’s probably a better marketing scheme to release something new on DVD. Apparently, there’s a spin-off in the making taking place in another era with brand new characters. I will watch, but it will definitely be bittersweet without the original characters. Oh, and M. Night Shyamalan is making three movies to cover the series. Of course, he’s gonna change it up a bit. The characters will be older by a bit, the story will be a tad different and it’ll fit his style. I honestly don’t like the idea of putting Western actors in an Eastern setting. I was actually hoping that he would introduce an Eastern cast to USA, but it seems that the only Asian guy considered for a role in the movie so far is for Aang.

I think most of these questions lead to the same conclusions. These men are trying to teach children valuable lessons. Life isn’t perfect, broaden your horizon, and don’t ask too many questions.

Oh, and a lot of people are asking for an epilogue and they even started a petition. Since I’m against it, I’m not giving you guys a link, but you guys can go search for it if you want. Why am I against it? Believe it or not, I’m satisfied with the ending. To me, here’s how it goes – their goal was to overthrow the Firelord and bring balance to the world. They achieved it, and I am just fine with it. They briefly answered our questions, not completely, but what can you gain from knowing so much? Things like Ursa’s whereabouts or Iroh’s spiritual abilities aren’t exactly major factors of the story. They’re just gonna spoil you silly by giving you so much info. And even I don’t wanna know that much new information at the end of the series. I just wanna know that all the major characters found closure and they met their goals. That’s really all that matters.

Seriously, if they give it an epilogue episode, I’ll be so disappointed. I’ll just have to condemn it with all the stupid children’s shows, simply because some information is left for us to think about. They don’t have to spoonfeed us through every nook and cranny, really.

Yeah, I’m an Avatar nerd.

Can you believe it? And I thought I was a loser for having neon pink nail polish. Now I’m glad that I was too lazy to throw it out ’cause it’s this summer’s new trend.

Why do I feel like this is gonna be a trend that we’ll all regret someday? But hey, you can’t go wrong with pink.

Alan Dawa Dolma/ཨ་ལན་ཟླ་བ་སྒྲོལ་མ་/阿兰达瓦卓玛 was born on July 25th, 1987 and raised in Dardo, a Tibetan town located in the Sichuan province of China. (Her family comes from Danba, or Beauty Valley. That’s just to clear things up since most people think she’s actually from there.) At a young age she began to learn how to sing and play instruments such as the chinese violin, erhu. She went on to have a colorful path through music as she graduated from a prestigious music school and performed in various competitions and events.

In 2006, Avex Trax, a Japanese music company known for artists such as Ayumi Hamasaki and Koda Kumi, held auditions around China and took Alan under their wing upon discovering her musical talent. After graduating in 2007, she packed up and moved to Tokyo where she began her professional music career under the name “alan.” She debuted in late 2007 and has since released four Japanese singles, various Chinese tracks, and two digital singles to gain money for China’s earthquake relief.

I recommend this new singer because she shows a lot of potential but for now she’s just gradually climbing to the top. She just needs the big break that will set off her career. She sort of reminds me of Ayumi Hamasaki because she has the same high-pitched voice (well, maybe not that high) but the reason that I would listen to alan and not exactly Ayumi is because her voice feels more mature and developed which I would assume is from her years of work in music throughout her childhood.

Now, as usual, I’ll give you guys some videos to start you off:

Video Credits: Himalayas007 @ YouTube

Yeah, I know, I haven’t been writing lately. But hey, it’s summer. I’d rather be running around under the sun than wasting away in front of the computer.

Today, I went out with a couple of friends to see WALL-E, which has been out for about a week. To explain the basic plot:

The story takes place in the future, and man has evacuated a heavily polluted earth and has been living in outer space for centuries. A group of robots, called WALL-E, served as cleaners on Earth but were put away upon man’s evacuation. However, one was left on, and he continued his cleaning duties ever since. This WALL-E has a vibrant personality and dreams of love. And during one of man’s missions to find a morsel of life on earth, WALL-E falls in love with a robot called EVE.

WALL-E Trailer posted by GerbilGod7 @ YouTube

Now, I don’t want to spoil anything else beyond the plot but I assure you that this movie is well worth the watch for audiences of any age. There are big handfuls of laughs and sweet moments that will surely make you smile. Next to that, the animation is wonderful, vivid, and exciting.

Personally, I’m a huge sucker for cute characters and quiet, sensitive love stories. So you know if you’re like me, WALL-E is probably the movie for you. My friend, on the other hand, thought it was too “hyped up.” I don’t know what that means but that’s just another opinion for you guys to think about. But he was impressed by the graphics.

What I really like about this movie is that the people who made it remembered that it was a love story. What do I mean by that? The main plot of this story is WALL-E’s affections and loyalty towards EVE, but the subplot is how man has ruined itself and Earth. However, to me at least, they taught us the lesson, “take care of yourself and the earth,” without trying to stuff it down our throats. They kept in mind that the robots were the main idea and gently intertwined the lesson they wanted to teach us into the plot. Bravo!

I’d say WALL-E deserves a 4.9 out of 5. Why such a weird score? Mainly because it didn’t completely impress two of my friends, and I know that it’s not the best movie. But for now, I can’t quite pinpoint what exactly is so imperfect about it. I think tonight’s movie ticket was the best $10 I’ve spent this summer. $10 for a movie ticket, can you imagine that? So expensive!

Vietnamese/Cantonese pop aren’t really my styles but I found this song that was really great:

“Kiep Ve Sau 3″ by Lam Truong

The singer is Tieu Lam Truong (just known as “Lam Truong” or “Anh Hai”), and the Cantonese part is his voice too…that is AWESOME. He was born in 1974 and he is married to a woman from Texas (sorry ladies). His family origins are in Jiujau, China. He has a really awesome voice that I’d like to hear more of. I’m a pretty new listener to him so I don’t really know anything else about him.

However, I do know that he was present for the Asia Festival of 2007 in Korea. He sang on the same stage as bigs names like Lee Hyori, Golf&Mike, Super Junior, Gigi Leung, A-mei, Vanness Wu, and SG Wannabe. So he must be great to listen to if he’s made it to a stage like that.

Well I believe my time will be limited for while. I hope I can write more in the future. In the meantime, try out some of Lam Truong’s music. Happy listening!

Video Credit: ndhieu4221986 @ YouTube