Doraemon FTW

I have this recent obsession with Happy Camp, this Chinese variety show. I've been trying to watch all the episodes and when Top Combine guested on it, the Happy Camp hosts did a surprise sanitation check on their dorms. It was revealed that Caesar is a bit of a neat freak and reads cookbooks before bed every night. And then it gets stranger. When they got to Kenny's room he was... well kinda weird to be honest. He had Doraemon pjs and his bed was Doraemon colored and he had a special section for his millions of Doraemon toys. Who would've known he was such a Doraemon fan.

Yeah that's Jay Chou on my browser bar. XD

Peace.

Usher and cpop sensations

It pays to live in China. Even though you might lose pretty much your entire childhood to the pressures of school, it's still worth it to live in China just to see Usher AND Jay Chou AND Wang Leehom AND Will Pan AND Han Geng on the same stage. I'm not sure if they're all going to be there but fans are showing their support for their Asian idols on Usher's site. Usher is making his debut in China on July 11 at Beijing's Wukesong Arena. I really need to find a way to get there and get tickets in 9 days. Argh.
Speaking of Wang Leehom, what the heck happened to him? I guess he's more into the film industry now, with Da Bing Xiao Jiang costarring Jackie Chan last year and Lian Ai Tong Gao this year (self-directed). And if Baidu is right, then he hasn't had a concert since February and his next one is in September. Plus, his last album was two years ago. Maybe he's busy working on a new album. Please, please have a new album out soon. I hope he didn't decide to move back to New York and disappear from the world of Asian media.

A-Dramas

I've been through quite a few Asian dramas lately, trying to find some good, shorter mainland idol dramas because they definitely exist. There are tons of people in China, someone has to film a good, short drama. Anyways, I don't really finish most of the dramas I watch. They get too long so I usually quit about halfway through. So yeah, I have yet to finish the following:

Oh! My Lady
Haha this is a pretty hilarious drama. Choi Siwon's not too bad of an actor for a singer. But I think it could move a little bit faster, sometimes it just feels like it's dragging and dramas are long enough as it is. Out of all the actors, I have to say Siwon's "daughter", Ye Eun, is my favorite. She's so cute ^^

Black and White
I think the title fits the drama well. Two cops, different as black and white. They dress like it too. First time watching a Vic Zhou drama, and I think he's a really good actor. He plays an absolute playboy, and I thought this was just his typical role, like how Wu Chun usually plays the strong, silent type or whatever, but apparently this is different? I just saw it on the video comment and I guess Vic doesn't really do the playboy type. He totally got me though. This drama has a lot of new actors, like Mark Chao and Ivy Chen. Mark Chao's completely new, this is his first drama. Ivy Chen is new to dramas I think, because I saw her in Hear Me (which is one of the best non-action movies I have ever seen, but then again I haven't seen a lot of non-action movies.) And then they have Kingone, who plays a druggie. It was totally believable though. The drama can be confusing at times, especially since I'm watching without eng subs. Halfway through Black&White, let's see if I actually finish this one.

Let's Watch Meteor Shower!

Lol @ Zhu Zixiao. He's like my favorite actor ever.

The first and only mainland drama I have ever watched. Well I'm not sure. Does Huan Zhu Ge Ge count as a drama? The title really doesn't sound as stupid in Chinese. It's basically just Boys Over Flowers-Chinese version. China has remade a few Korean dramas, it's about time for vice versa to happen don't you think? And it is. 甜蜜蜜-Korean version was supposed to star Park Yong Ha, then he committed suicide a few days ago. Anyways, I'm pretty excited that they're making Meteor Shower 2, I just hope it's good. Sequels tend to get boring, and C-dramas are already kinda long. Duan Mulei's hair looks better in the second one, in my opinion. I just have something against a guy with hair as long as a girl's shortcut, with the exception of Xiao Wu. His ponytail was cute (teehee).

I heard they're remaking Huan Zhu Ge Ge as well. It's 30 episodes, which sounds like a lot but is actually a ton shorter than the old ones. I wish they were using the same actors, but I guess look alikes will have to do. Loved Zhao Wei.

Image sources: Baidu Forums

Bing tang hu lu

Mmm yumm. I loved this stuff when I lived in Beijing,
and they were really common too. A lot of vendors wander around selling them. It's basically just a candied fruits kebab, traditionally hawthorn (shan zha), that's really popular in northern China. Anyways, so I went back last year and spent two days searching for them, only to be informed that they weren't sold on the streets anymore in the summer because it's too hot and they were melting or something. :( They do sell them in stores though, but it's just not the same. Look how delicious it looks in all of its unpackaged glory. And then compare it to the processed ones. They added a whole bunch of sugar and whatnot.

Top Combine has the saddest story, no doubt

I was looking at some old (well maybe not that old) interviews of Top Combine and I found this one of them on The Story Behind. There was this really sad part where Jin Ensheng/Kim Eunsung/Xiao Wu talks about his experience with a car bomb. Video's down below but if you don't have the time to watch it, it goes something like this: Xiao Wu and his older sister and mom were in a taxi one day when a car bomb in the taxi blew up. Xiao Wu came out unscathed because he was sitting on his mother's lap and thus, was protected by his mother. His sister on the other hand, was close to death. His mom walked (?) all the way to the hospital carrying Xiao Wu and dragging his sister. Unfortunately, the doctor said that there was no hope for his sister so his mom knelt in front of the hospital for an entire day until the doctor agreed to try to help his sister. His sister did survive, and ended up in a coma. The hospital bills were extremely expensive and the family did whatever they could to make ends meet. The next year though, Xiao Wu's father died and left his mother with the responsibility of taking care of the children, including his sister's bills. His mother even considered the possibility of suicide, but decided that her children needed her. Now that Xiao Wu is all grown up, he thought that he could finally repay his mother for everything she did for him and his sister. But now that Xiao Wu is all famous and in China and everything, he can't be there for his family. I heard somewhere that he used to cry every night when he first went to China. The kid's still somehow optimistic. His teachers called him Sunshine Boy hehe. I bet you can't find a sadder story behind a boy band than Top Combine. Xiao Wu, jia you!



If you're wondering about the flower in front of his face, it's because he fell in the shower the night before and got six stitches, so he had to keep the wound away from light.

Image Source: http://maobeili.blog.163.com/blog/static/404131200811710955592/

New chinese girl band-- iMe

It's a pan-Asia girl band with three Chinese members, one South Korean, and one Thai. The "i" stands for "international", "idol", and "idea", and the "Me" represents their individuality, but also the idea of the group as a whole. So the name "iMe" means an international and cosmopolitan idol group. The girls are all "九零后", which means they have to be born after 1990. The purpose of iMe is to show each of their unique characteristics and abilities, as well as how amazing they can be when their abilities are combined. iMe is signed under 天娱传媒 Day Amusement Media OR eeMedia, or maybe they're the same thing. I don't know, Baidu says one thing, Google says another. They're also signed under Korean DoReMi and Thai True Fantasia. They trained in South Korea and released the EP Ai Yi Ya 哎咿呀 (I have no idea what that translates to. I think it's like the Korean "aigoo".) The director for that MV also directed some of DBSK's, Super Junior's, and SNSD's MVs. Jin Ensheng from Top Combine stars as the nerdy boy, and his mushroom hairdo perfects the image.



Bios:

李媛希 (Mocika)-The Fashionista
Position: Leader, lead vocal (bass)
Nicknames: XiXi, Lady Xi, Princess XiXi, Brother Xi, Little Monkey
Nationality: Chinese
Birthplace: Yaan, Sichuan
Birthdate: 2/10/1990
Animal representation: Horse 　　
Language: Chinese English Korean 　　　　
Blood type: B 　　
Body weight: 42kg 　　
Height: 160cm 　　
Constellation: Aquarius 　　
University: Sichuan University of Electronic Science and Technology 　　
Hobbies: Singing, dancing, window-shop, eat　　
Currently attending: Sichuan University of Electronic Science and Technology　　　 　　
Most enchanting place(??): Eye, facial features, leg, waist 　　
Favorite color: Golden color, blue color, pink color 　　
Most afraid of: Nothing　　
Favorite season: Spring 　　
Idols: Beyonce, Elva Hsiao, Jam Hsiao
Favorite movie: Dreamgirls 　　
Work: On the map travels (Cover Girl individual single tune)


刘美含 (Mikan)- Angel Devil
Position: Vice-initiates, the lead dancer
Nickname: MeiMei, Nizi, 小魔仙 、米糠
Nationality: China　 　　
In team duty: Vice, lead dancer, treble 　　
Place of birth: Shenzhen, Guangdong　 　　
Date of birth: 4/9/1991
Zodiac: Sheep　 　　
Language: Chinese English Japanese Cantonese Korean 　　
Blood type: B　 　　
Body weight: 38kg　 　　
Height: 158cm　 　　
Musical instrument: Piano
Constellation: Aries 　　
Hobbies: Singing, performing, swimming, dancing, drawing　　
School: Shenzhen Foreign Language-Japanese, Beijing Foreign Studies University (recommended)　　 　　
Most enchanting place(??): Face shape (oval face) nose (high nose) and wrist 　　
Favorite color: Pink color　 　　
Most is afraid thing: Insects 　　
Favorite season: Xia &qiu　 　　
Favorite bands: w-inds, DBSK
Favorite book: ：《陪安东尼度过漫长岁月》 "Accompanied Antony To pass Long Years" 　　
Idols: Mom and Dad　 　
Favorite subjects: Japanese, language, fine arts, music 　　
Least favorite subjects: All science subjects　
Most wanted: Various branches perfect score examination paper ~w-inds concert ticket 　　
Favorite animal: Dog


易秋兰 (Niki)-The Confident Angel
Position: Dancer, rap
Nicknames：Purple, Blue 　　
Nationality：Chinese　 　　
Birthplace：Chengdu, Sichuan 　　
Birthdate：11/8/1987　　
Languages：Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean
Blood type: A 　　
Weight：45kg　 　　
Constellation：Scorpio 　　
Hobbies：Singing, dancing, performing, eating, traveling
Favorite seasons：Summer and winter 　　
Favorite songs：《If I ain't got you》、《流浪记》 　　
Favorite movie：Step Up《舞出我人生》系列、Harry Potter《哈利·波特》系列 　　
Favorite animal：Dog 　　
Least favorite animal：Mouse


那琳 (Zara)
Thai name: ที่Lin
Position: Dance, tenor
Nicknames: LinEr
Nationality: Thai, German
Hobbies: Singing, dancing
Languages: Chinese, Thai


沈泫京
Korean name: 심현경

Shim Hyun Kyung
Position: Dancer, treble
Hobbies: Singing, dancing
Nationality: Korean
Languages, Korean, Chinese
Nicknames: AhZi
Favorite band: DBSK
　　
[Sorry if i messed up anything. First time doing bios and such. This translating stuff is harder than I thought.]

Jay Chou!!!

I don't think Sherry mentioned Jay Chou, which is pretty strange because I thought she really liked him.... But anyways. Jay Chou isn't exactly Chinese, he's Taiwanese but whatever, he speaks Chinese. So Jay Chou is more serious than Top Combine (or whatever those Korean people made them into...) but some of his songs are really funny/strange...

Personally, I don't really like most of his songs, but I really like a decent number of them, hence my little obsession with Jay Chou at the moment ^^ I really like Ye Qu and She Wu (although She Wu is really strange =.=), as well as some other songs. Although Dragon Rider, Cai Hong, and Qi Li Xiang aren't bad songs, I just don't like them that much -.-

This is Ye Qu:


And this is Dragon Rider...


It's a rather strange MV isn't it....

The thing I like about Jay Chou is that he's actually really talented... He plays the guitar, drums, piano and cello apparently. And he writes his own songs. In fact, he became famous because he wrote songs. He's crazy talented... It makes me feel immature, but apparently all my immaturity was sucked out of me when I was born so...

Yeah so Jay Chou also directs/stars in some movies, like Secret. Secret's the only one I've watched so far since I'm not as big on the whole movie and drama thing but Secret wasn't actually bad although it was a strange story. Did I mention Jay Chou rocks at piano? Yes, yes I did ^^ So in Secret for some reason they had to be uber nerds and go for a piano battle.... and now this piano battle is all over the web and youtube.... =.= And I don't mean they whack each other with grand pianos, they somehow win/lose based on talent? And even stranger, they had a big audience as well... I love asians ^^



~Julia

3AM

I don't recall ever explaining what 3AM is, so here it is: 3AM=3 Asian Mafia. Our English teacher (and some of the students) gave the name Asian Mafia to my friends and I and it just sorta stuck. Like how the fans gave BoBo their name. Except we dont have any fans... Anyways, 2PM inspired us to upgrade it to 3AM. Catchy right? +]


PS. It's my special cyclops smiley. I have copyright.
PPS. We're not really a mafia. It's just the irony of our weakness and puniness and how hilarious it would be if we were. Please don't be mistaken. We don't want to deal with the government.

Cpop obsession

I'm going through a Cpop phase. Cpop playing all day long-Jay Chou, Wang Leehom, Will Pan. I've been looking for good mainland artists ever since I heard about the new wave of Chinese boy bands and the like. First of all, BoBo. I've recently become very very very obsessed with them. Like, in the past two hours XD I can't believe it's taken me this long to be obsessed. I'm not really a big fan of ballads, but I suppose they're not too bad. Their new album, Let's BoBo, has a few upbeat tracks, like Just Love. BoBo's quite poetic. And they're super cute ^^

Julia says this isn't the most attractive picture ever, but she had all of her immaturity sucked out of her at birth.
I'm pretty sure Fu Xinbo is a part-time shape-shifter. He looks different from every angle-- Danson Tang, Jaejoong, Show Luo, and even a little bit like Shun Oguri.

Moving on, Top Combine. First great mainland boy band. I can't say I liked them too much at first, but they've grown on me. Especially Cotton Candy. It's quite catchy. Top Combine is very much Korean-influenced. Their stylist, choreographer, and director are all from DBSK, Shinhwa, and another korean band I can't remember the name of. Plus, their maknae, Xiao Wu (otherwise known as Jin EnSheng/Kim Eunsung/Tanas), is Korean (name makes it pretty obvious). The song that he composed for their new album, Love Live , sounds pretty kpop. I just wish they didn't look like a DBSK replica. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like their stylist DBSK-ed them. Or maybe I just don't like their shorter hair and the fact that you can't see their eyes if their hair is a tiny bit out of place. Being Asian and all, it's already kinda difficult to see one's eyes >.<

Before:

After:

I wonder why Xiao Mei is always in the middle? Shouldn't the leader be?

And this is the cutest dance ever!

Top Combine is co-hosting a new show too. I'm not exactly sure what it is but it's like uhmm a remake of Huan Zhu Ge Ge where contestants practice acting as characters from Huan Zhu Ge Ge or something like that. TC's getting chao popular.

VAE!!

Who's Vae? That's what I thought. What a weird name, but the dude's absolutely amazing. I was looking up cpop artists the other night and came across this guy. Vae's real name is Xu Song. He's like 23 or 24 years old and is now my idol for life probably. ^^ Vae's from AnHui province in China and graduated from high school as one of the top ten students in the province, he's pretty good with web graphics, published around 20 papers, won an award for one of them I think, and is currently a med student studying to be a dentist. On top of everything, he composes/records/mixes his own songs as a hobby. And they're not bad either (in my opinion). Sounds sorta like Jay Chou, "zhong guo feng" with the Chinese instrumental and western combo. Anyways, here's one of his songs: You He Bu Ke.



In order for life to be fair, a guy this talented has to be pretty ugly right? Wrong. Life's unfair.