Originally posted on xanga.
Wow. It has been a long time since I blogged.
I don't have much time nowadays with a demanding job and a very active daughter.
I am sad that I will be missing the Beijing Olympics. Since Beijing won the bid, I've wanted to make it out there for the Olympics. Instead, I'll have to rely on NBC to show me highlights.
I am around 200-300 Chinese characters now. I haven't really been on top of it recently. Where's the sd slot in my brain to upload this stuff.
I am still watching lots of movies from Asia. I've given up on Japanese and Korean movies for now. I must be having bad luck with them recently. My video rental places around here don't carry any with english subs so that has limited my selection to Netflix. Lemme tell you. Netflix carries a lot of crap.
As for Chinese movies of late. It has been 50/50 in finding one I enjoy.
As for Taiwan dramas, they are the best! Wuxia ones are 50/50 also.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Comic Books
Originally posted on xanga.
I've been collecting comic books for the past 21 years. I don't have an exact count, but my collection runs into the thousands. I mainly collect Marvel comics and my favorite is Iron Man.
Recently, I've been having a lot of trouble storing my comics. I don't know what to do with all this stuff anymore. I have stacks and stacks of it sitting around my office. I have most of them stored in my parents garage. Beyond reading the comics once, I rarely read it a second time. I keep it as purely as a collectible.
I've been considering stopping cold turkey and selling my collection. Getting it out of my life completely.
A part of me loved the chase aspect. I wanted so badly for years to collect all the back issues of the Iron Man series. That lead to the Avengers, Fantastic Four, etc.
I need to simplify my life. I have too much clutter. Too many things keeping me occupied, that I don't have time to do the important things in life.
Hopefully I will find someone to take the comics off my hands for a reasonable price. Most likely it'll be a comic book dealer. I don't have time to sell stuff individually, I just want to get rid of it in one swoop. I'll put that money towards my daughters college fund.
But I may change my mind again later. There's just so much good stuff out there now.
I've been collecting comic books for the past 21 years. I don't have an exact count, but my collection runs into the thousands. I mainly collect Marvel comics and my favorite is Iron Man.
Recently, I've been having a lot of trouble storing my comics. I don't know what to do with all this stuff anymore. I have stacks and stacks of it sitting around my office. I have most of them stored in my parents garage. Beyond reading the comics once, I rarely read it a second time. I keep it as purely as a collectible.
I've been considering stopping cold turkey and selling my collection. Getting it out of my life completely.
A part of me loved the chase aspect. I wanted so badly for years to collect all the back issues of the Iron Man series. That lead to the Avengers, Fantastic Four, etc.
I need to simplify my life. I have too much clutter. Too many things keeping me occupied, that I don't have time to do the important things in life.
Hopefully I will find someone to take the comics off my hands for a reasonable price. Most likely it'll be a comic book dealer. I don't have time to sell stuff individually, I just want to get rid of it in one swoop. I'll put that money towards my daughters college fund.
But I may change my mind again later. There's just so much good stuff out there now.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Stuck at 220 and other random stuff
Originally posted on xanga.
So I started my quest to learn to speak Mandarin Chinese better and to start learning how to write Chinese about 6 months ago. I've been stuck at 220 or so characters for the past 2 months. I got to 220 characters at around Valentine's day. Since around than, I took a month off and have spent most of this month catching up. Just the last 2 days, I've started to learn 2 or 3 new characters. The first in a long time. Part of the reason is that I have a very bad review process. It was taking 2 hours a day to do everything But this week, I've figured out a way that I only need to review the beginning characters once a week and the new ones daily and the middle ones 2 or 3 times a week. This cuts my review time to about 30 minutes a day! I started cue cards at the beginning of the year, but the stack is huge now and I don't have time to really review with my busy lifestyle.
I recently watched the much hyped Andy Lau and Daniel Wu movie called, Protégé. It was a really interesting film that had a focus on the drug trade and something many HK movies have nowadays. An undercover cop. I was actually struck by a stunning Zhang Jingchu. Zhang Jingchu will also be in Rush Hour 3.
I also like to congratulate Lau Ching-Wan on his win for My Name is Fame at the HK movie awards. I've been a fan of his since his TVB days in the 80s and C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri is one of my all time favorite movies. C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri also stars my favorite HK actress of the 90s, Anita Yuen.
I've also been watching this Blood Sword Clan series. I think I fast forwarded through 80% of the series. Not very good.
So I started my quest to learn to speak Mandarin Chinese better and to start learning how to write Chinese about 6 months ago. I've been stuck at 220 or so characters for the past 2 months. I got to 220 characters at around Valentine's day. Since around than, I took a month off and have spent most of this month catching up. Just the last 2 days, I've started to learn 2 or 3 new characters. The first in a long time. Part of the reason is that I have a very bad review process. It was taking 2 hours a day to do everything But this week, I've figured out a way that I only need to review the beginning characters once a week and the new ones daily and the middle ones 2 or 3 times a week. This cuts my review time to about 30 minutes a day! I started cue cards at the beginning of the year, but the stack is huge now and I don't have time to really review with my busy lifestyle.
I recently watched the much hyped Andy Lau and Daniel Wu movie called, Protégé. It was a really interesting film that had a focus on the drug trade and something many HK movies have nowadays. An undercover cop. I was actually struck by a stunning Zhang Jingchu. Zhang Jingchu will also be in Rush Hour 3.
I also like to congratulate Lau Ching-Wan on his win for My Name is Fame at the HK movie awards. I've been a fan of his since his TVB days in the 80s and C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri is one of my all time favorite movies. C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri also stars my favorite HK actress of the 90s, Anita Yuen.
I've also been watching this Blood Sword Clan series. I think I fast forwarded through 80% of the series. Not very good.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Chinese Dramas
Originally posted on xanga.
I've grown up watching Chinese dramas and Hong Kong movies. Its probably one of the reasons that I can still understand as much Mandarin Chinese as I do now. Some of my favorite dramas were those from TVB of Jinyong's novels. The ones from the 80s from the "5 tigers" of Hong Kong were my favorites. Although I haven't watched them since the early 90s, I can still remember them fondly. My two favorites dramas starred Tony Leung Chiu Wai. The versions I watched were all the Mandarin dubbed versions.
Many of those Jinyong series get a production from both Hong Kong and Taiwan. Recently, China's been releasing their own productions as well. So, for any given drama, you can see 2 or 3 interpretations every decade or so dating to the 70s.
Recently, these past 3 months, I've been able to watch 2 series that have really caught my attention. One is called "The Proud Twins" starring two HK male leads, Dicky Cheung and Nicholas Tse. Its around 44 or 45 episodes (depends on which DVD set you're watching). I must say that the first 25 episode were fantastic. Simply amazing. I watched in anticipation for each story arc to unfold. But the series took a really dark tone after that point and I ended up fast forwarding through at least 80% of the rest of the series. I remember telling my wife that she had to watch it and I'd translate whatever she couldn't understand. But I couldn't recommend it after I watched it all. Only 60% of the series was any good. Do the producers and makers even know how good it was and how much it sucked after? In any case, it was GREAT for 25 episodes. I can tell you when to stop and not watch anymore. This story was based off a Gu Long novel.
The second was one that I just finished watching. It may hold a place in my heart as the best I've seen in years. Its out of Taiwan called "Angel Lover" starring Ming Dao, Bianca Bai, and Coco Jiang. I immediately felt an affiliation with the lead's character, personality, and sense of humor. The lead's love interest was just as, if not more, interesting. The series has distinct story arcs and I only fast forwarded through one of the arcs. The songs are pretty catchy as well. I'll have to search for the OST around town. I have no idea where the story originated from but I thought it was quite unique and kept me on board for most the ride.
I also enjoyed a very lighted hearted movie with my current favorite actress, Cherrie Ying. The movie doesn't have a official english name, but if I were to translate, it would be "Dream Seekers". Takes place in China and may be reflecting the changing face of the Chinese as they start to take in more and more of the world cuture. I must warn you that it contains a pretty high "cheese" factor. Its called meng xiang ren jian in pinyin.
For the first time, I am actually going to open up an entry for comments. I'll see how that goes. If I get zero comments. No need to turn on comments than I say. But who knows. It I get too many saying I am lame, I'll have to reconsider.
I've grown up watching Chinese dramas and Hong Kong movies. Its probably one of the reasons that I can still understand as much Mandarin Chinese as I do now. Some of my favorite dramas were those from TVB of Jinyong's novels. The ones from the 80s from the "5 tigers" of Hong Kong were my favorites. Although I haven't watched them since the early 90s, I can still remember them fondly. My two favorites dramas starred Tony Leung Chiu Wai. The versions I watched were all the Mandarin dubbed versions.
Many of those Jinyong series get a production from both Hong Kong and Taiwan. Recently, China's been releasing their own productions as well. So, for any given drama, you can see 2 or 3 interpretations every decade or so dating to the 70s.
Recently, these past 3 months, I've been able to watch 2 series that have really caught my attention. One is called "The Proud Twins" starring two HK male leads, Dicky Cheung and Nicholas Tse. Its around 44 or 45 episodes (depends on which DVD set you're watching). I must say that the first 25 episode were fantastic. Simply amazing. I watched in anticipation for each story arc to unfold. But the series took a really dark tone after that point and I ended up fast forwarding through at least 80% of the rest of the series. I remember telling my wife that she had to watch it and I'd translate whatever she couldn't understand. But I couldn't recommend it after I watched it all. Only 60% of the series was any good. Do the producers and makers even know how good it was and how much it sucked after? In any case, it was GREAT for 25 episodes. I can tell you when to stop and not watch anymore. This story was based off a Gu Long novel.
The second was one that I just finished watching. It may hold a place in my heart as the best I've seen in years. Its out of Taiwan called "Angel Lover" starring Ming Dao, Bianca Bai, and Coco Jiang. I immediately felt an affiliation with the lead's character, personality, and sense of humor. The lead's love interest was just as, if not more, interesting. The series has distinct story arcs and I only fast forwarded through one of the arcs. The songs are pretty catchy as well. I'll have to search for the OST around town. I have no idea where the story originated from but I thought it was quite unique and kept me on board for most the ride.
I also enjoyed a very lighted hearted movie with my current favorite actress, Cherrie Ying. The movie doesn't have a official english name, but if I were to translate, it would be "Dream Seekers". Takes place in China and may be reflecting the changing face of the Chinese as they start to take in more and more of the world cuture. I must warn you that it contains a pretty high "cheese" factor. Its called meng xiang ren jian in pinyin.
For the first time, I am actually going to open up an entry for comments. I'll see how that goes. If I get zero comments. No need to turn on comments than I say. But who knows. It I get too many saying I am lame, I'll have to reconsider.
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