Super Junior China Confirmations part 2 March 31, 2008

Dear Friends,

I will now tell you why I told you guys numerous times not to believe unofficial sources such as Hong Dou. Yeah, I’m putting my own blog down, but you have to remember that this is a blog.

If you look at my categories, I write about lots of things like my life, current events, and other types of music. I don’t always have my eye on Super Junior, so I don’t always know if the information I get is correct. But I’ll let you know, that after Asianfanatics and Shenyuepop credited me with information, I learned to rely more on official sites and credit them so I know for sure that my information is right. Here goes nothing:

Sohu says that Super Junior China will gradually begin to come out on the 3rd. Not the 1st. (An April Fools Day joke perhaps?) And they will officially debut on the 8th with a music video. On the 9th, they will have an interview with Sohu.

Warning…I suck at reading Chinese, especially if it’s simplified because I am a traditional reader. But I am still better than Chenzi (just wanted to point that out). So my advice to you is to check out Sohu for yourself or get a more literate person to translate for you.

Much love,
Miss Chiu

Credit: Sohu

Ideal Asian Beauty

I literally just wrote my last entry about Asian beauty concerns. And I thought about different traits that Asians, generally, believe are ideal. Everybody has different ideas of true beauty because “eye of the beholder” blah blah blah. But I just want to name some general ones that could pull out the top of my head.

An Asian’s Concern for Beauty

I was just watching various clips from The Tyra Banks Show. Don’t ask why. I honestly hate that show because as much as I like Miss Tyra, I can’t stand the people that go on her show and I don’t really like her as a talk show host. Her guests consist of people who frequently use “like” as a filler word. They piss me off.

Anyways, In one clip, she talked to an Asian woman about her blepharoplasty/double eyelid surgery. And they started to argue about whether it was about the desire to look more Caucasian. My thought was, “I guess.”

Music Recommendation: Mayday March 30, 2008

Also known as 五 月天 (literally meaning “a day in may”), Mayday is one of the most popular alternative rock bands in Taiwan and beyond. The band has been active since 1997 and have been praised as “the zeitgeist of Taiwanese youth” because its music focuses on themes like dreams, love, loneliness, and growing up. Their goal is to be the Chinese version of The Beatles, and I say that they’re pretty close.

Chenzi actually isn’t too into them because she thinks their name is stupid. Boo!

Mayday started out as guitar-loving high school students. Vocalist Ashin, dubbed the “Prince of Our Hearts,” along with Monster, the guitarist, and a former drummer named Youda started a band called So Band. Masa, Stone, and Guanyou joined later. As they went through college, they performed in various pubs and, eventually, the Formoz Festival where they coined their name Mayday, which is Masa’s online name. When they sent out demo tapes of their music, Rock Records executive Lee Zong Sheng saw them as “the ones who would usher in the sound of the future” and gave them a record deal.

Their first hit was 志明與春嬌 (Peter and Mary) , which was sung in their native Taiwanese dialect. Since then, they have only flourished in the Asian music industry, despite setbacks such as military duty. Up until now, they have performed on stages around the world and written music for various famous artists.

Now most importantly, why do I like them? They give me the same feeling I get when I listen to David Tao (go back to my first recommendation and check him out!). I love their lyrics because, I can relate to them. They deal with feelings all of us adults-to-be face. Their lyrics are poetic but have simple meanings, and Ashin’s simple voice and boyish charm only complement them. I also feel that they go beyond the boundaries of performer and audience. From listening to their music, I sense their personalities and I feel close to them.

Here is the video of their first hit, Peter and Mary:

Here’s a website with translations for every album up until now. Generally, I don’t like reading through translations, but you learn a lot about what goes through Ashin‘s head when you read them. It’s really intriguing, so even if you understand Mandarin or Taiwanese, you should take a look at that website to get a taste of Taiwanese culture and Ashin’s sense of humor. For example, the translator realized that Ashin occassionally puts off that he sucks at math, because whenever the lyrics involve numbers, he just craps it up and leaves it the way it is.

I would also like to say, they are amazing live. This is why I love rock music, because it sounds great when it’s performed live. As you know from the picture, they’re touring this year. They’ve toured in Japan, China, Taiwan, Canada, and etc before, so keep your eyes open!!

Credit: Wikipedia, http://www.onedayinmay.net/
Video Credit: mcorange @ YouTube
Picture Credit: Your face…actually, I don’t know.

“Incubating” Dreams March 29, 2008

I told you guys before about my reoccuring dreams of my teeth falling out right? Well it’s still happening. A couple nights ago, I dreamt that only one of my teeth fell out, but I don’t think it has any hidden meaning behind it. Why? I think I’m just getting anxiety over my teeth possibly getting crooked again. I stopped wearing my retainer years ago and I’m afraid of my teeth moving.

When you think a lot about something, you will “incubate” your dreams (according to my Psychology teacher). It’s true. I remember I had a crush on a boy once. He was a big jerk, so I dreamt that his parents stole precious jewelry from me. Another time, Chenzi got me really into DBSK, so I dreamt that Jaejoong was racist against filipinos.

But if you want to dream about something, my teacher says to think about it all day, write about it, and continue until you fall asleep. It’s supposed to work most of the time and it’s something fun to try.

PS: I encourage Chenzi to write about her dreams on our blog. They make interesting stories. Trust me. I choke from laughter everytime I read about them.

New layout??

…I wish.

I’ve actually been taking classes on Computer Graphics since I’m studying art. But since I have school, I don’t have time to make Hong Dou a nice little layout.

Once summer comes, I promise a pretty layout. Maybe then we’ll get more readers.

Meanwhile, I have to do a lot of artwork to build up a portfolio. You know, after doing a portfolio for college applications, I thought I was done. I guess I’m not. Next to that, I got recruited to do portrait drawings for this high school’s graduation party. I’m really nervous about that because I really suck at drawing quickly, expecially when people are breathing down my neck. So I have to practice. Wish me luck!

I’m really in the mood for some strawberry soda.

Music Recommendation: Jones Shi Kang Jun

On a January 19th, 1979 (I think), Weng Jun Wei was born in Singapore. He grew up to study design and open up an small interior design company with his friends. He was also a frequent singer at a local KTV until a music producer discovered him. He decided to leave to his designing career, girlfriend, and name behind to pursue singing.

He became british rock-influenced singer, Jones Shi Kang Jun. He released one album titled “Firelight” in 2005. Unfortunately, pop and r&b dominate the Mandarin music industry and Jones lost the newcomer award to Sly. Since then, he has been giving singing lessons in Singapore, and occasionally performs his songs and other famous songs on stage.

I truly love Jones Shi’s music because he has a lovely voice that you can’t find often in Mandarin music. Fans know him for his beautiful falsettos that even Leehom Wang has praised. Chenzi loves his music ’cause his album consists of straightforward break up songs (except for the cover song “Firelight” which is more of a love song).

If you’re interested, I’m sorry, his music is really difficult to find at this point. You can talk to me and I can tell you good places to listen to his music. You could maybe try an MP3 search on Baidu (I can teach you if you want but I’m not so sure if it works). You can also seach “Jones Shi,” “Shi Kang Jun,” or his name in Chinese characters on YouTube to find good videos. All his music videos are on YouTube as well as tv programs he’s been on and a few live performances shot for tv and by fans.

Here are a couple videos to get you started:

Leng Dong/Frozen music video.

It’s one of my favorite songs on his album. A couple of his music videos feature drawings that I assume he drew because he’s also known to be a talented artist.

His covers of Better Man by Robbie Williams, Xin Bu Liao Qing by Wan Fang, and Hong Dou/Red Bean by Faye Wong at one of his live performances.

If you’ve read one of my previous entries, I can only respect a singer if he or she can give a good live performance.

Also check out his songs 黑夜過後/Hei Ye Guo Hou/After Tonight and 火光/Huo Guang/Firelight. The music for After Tonight was written by Jones himself and is one of his most highest praised songs. His album cover song, Firelight, displays his ability to do falsettos.

I really hope you guys give him a listen because this man is highly underrated. If you’re ever in Singapore or China, you might be lucky enough to see him performing at local concerts and charity events. So…happy listening!

Picture Credit: jones.disorder-suite.net (Not Yet Crazy: A Jones Shi English-language fansite)
Video Credit: SNOWWHITE, matsufuyu @ YouTube

Chaos in China

This is going to be a really messy entry but I was really intrigued by recent news.

As we know, Tibet has been trying to gain independence from China for a while, and they have been able to round up a bunch of supporters around the world as well. Now with the Beijing Olympics nearing, they took the chance to protest.

Zhou Mi March 28, 2008

Let’s forget about Super Junior China for a bit.

skyoflovee posted another video of Zhou Mi singing David Tao’s Liu Sha.

He talks too. I’m starting to wonder if he’s from Guangzhou. My Mandarin stinks but for some reason, I keep connecting him to Guangzhou. He even says “Guangzhou” in his little speech, but he talks so quickly that I can’t understand. I also know that he won a contest in Guangzhou once.

Hmm I would also like to say that earlier I wrote that he’s about 21-22 years old right now (1986’er). But other people say that he’s 19. I don’t know who to trust.

Again, don’t trust me as a source.

But despite rumors saying that he’s a trouble-maker, I still like him…so far.

Well, in other news, Donghae is voted biggest farter in Super Junior. As if we REALLY needed to know that. But apparently, he even has some kind of ritualistic farting tune that he sings before doing his business. It’s like that “toot toot” boy from Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide. At least he’s considerate??

Credit: popseoul
Video Credit: skyoflovee

Itazura na Kiss Anime PV

They came out with a promotional video for the anime version of Itazura na Kiss, which I wrote about a while ago.

Turns out, it’s coming out on April 9th. A little later than I thought. I’m still excited, though! I hope all you Itazura na Kiss fans are excited too!

Video Credit: MiakaFY94