As I’ve been living my own 1040 adventure, I actually got to see Mr. Jin the MC the other night! As we were eating dumplings, I had flashbacks to “Yum Dom Cha”… oh man, how things have changed! It was cool… we both talked about how we unexpectedly ended up in HK. Why I’m in HK? I’ll save that for another blog…
Here’s a lil’ web clip of Jin sharing a bit about his relationship with God:
That’s right. Another spexy Brother reppin’ it. Check him out: ayojin.com
Ok, so I recently started using this made up word “SPEXY” ever since I saw it in a comment to Disgrasian.com’s Babewatch article on JMA. Spexy = spiritual + sexy. Puahaha. I love it.
Anyway, I think many of you would agree. Van Ness Wu is pretty spexy.
The world premiere is going down on March 12, 2010 at opening night of the City of the Angels Film Festival: http://1040movie.com/1040-world-premiere
I thought I was gonna be back for the premiere, but it seems that I’m in the process of my own 1040 adventure! For now, I’ll just say that God has been so good… He’s totally moving in Asia… and I can’t wait to share “1040 Part 2 Grace Su Edition” with y’all. Haha.
Anyway, here’s the teaser for 1040:
I hope those of you who watch it will get something out of it, whether you’re Christian or not! Be Blessed :]
Well, it’s not THAT cold. I just happen to be in Hong Kong where I see posters for Hot Summer Days all over the place when ironically it’s quite the opposite here.
Despite the cold weather, I went to the AliveNotDead x Biennale event at the West Kowloon waterfront and former landfill. I am told that the HK gov’t has invested $3 BILLION (yes, BILLION USD) to renovate the area into an arts district. Anyway, so we scoped out the “Bring Your Own Biennale” exhibit which included lots of interesting pieces of architectural art made out of everyday things and nature that various artists and architects were invited to create.
Here are a few photos from the event:
The following piece was designed by Edward Huang and actor Daniel Wu (who was actually an architecture student AND a star of the above-mentioned Hot Summer Days). Photos jacked from Anton Wong.
If you’re in HK, the exhibit will be up ’til the 27th: hkszbiennale.org
Upon arriving in HK the other night, the AliveNotDead guys hooked it up with a ticket to go to the red carpet premiere of the new Jackie Chan and Wang Lee Hom flick, Little Big Soldier. Well, I had no plans, so why not?
My movie mates! The gorgeous Grace Huang and Etchy.
Lin Peng, Director Ding Sheng, and Steve Yoo (aka Yoo Seung-Jun):
The crowd was a lil’ bit too crazy. I don’t know why there was an ambulance. Maybe cuz’ somebody had a heart attack upon hearing Wang Lee Hom was in the house (actually, I don’t know if he was there or not, but there were some WLH fanatics in the house for sure).
How was the movie? I thought it was OK. Jackie Chan is always entertaining and I thought it was cool that he wrote the story, but overall, I thought it dragged a bit, became very predictable at times, and didn’t have much of a payoff. The character development wasn’t totally there, cuz’ by the end, I wasn’t invested enough in the characters to care about their transformations. Despite that, I did laugh a fair amount here and there (although I happened to laugh at things that nobody else laughed at… I guess my sense of humor is totally different from the HK audience).
So this is the hottest flick in Taiwan right now… MONGA. I’d been hearing about it from my relatives and from watching TV, and then a friend who knows the director wanted to go see it… so we watched it last night! And it was quite good. I have to honestly say I wasn’t really expecting too much based on Taiwanese films I’d seen before (which actually isn’t very much), but this one was was very well made, has a great story, and the actors are pretty hot. Puahaha. Takeshi Kaneshiro, watch out!
Random tidbits: The whole entire time, I kept thinking that one of the main characters, “Monk” (Ethan Ruan) looked so much like Kev Nish from FM! And then “Mosquito” (Mark Chao) kinda looked like Bruce Lee… haha.
I don’t know too much about the back story of this film and right now there’s no IMDB page for it either… hmm. Well, in short, it’s about a place called Monga, which according to my uncle, baaack in the day was a port where many mainlanders entered Taiwan from. Ok, if you don’t like spoilers, well here’s your SPOILER ALERT… In this film, the story takes place in the ’70s and ’80s and is about a group of friends, part of the Temple Front gang. The narrator of the story, Mosquito, is invited to be a part of the gang after a silly fight with members of another gang, the Back Alley. Mosquito has grown up without a father and has never had any real friends, so after Monk and the others take him under their wing, he fully embraces the new lifestyle and there’s no turning back. The story has a number of heart-wrenching twists and while it is a drama, there’s also a lot of humor which I loved. In the end, it all comes down to the characters trying to balance the harsh realities of a violent gangster life with the honor of friendship and brotherhood.
I have no idea when the film will be hitting the U.S., but I hope it will! Here’s the website, but it’s all in Chinese: mongathemovie.com
It’s been a blast (still going!). My Mandarin still sucks, but I’m definitely getting to practice it with my relatives. It’s so weird to see my cousins who I remember as babies and they’re all in high school now. It’s also strange that I never really got to know the cousins who are closer in age to me.
The past few nights I slept next to my grandma in her ol’ house in Nantou. It was a bit of a trip to be sleeping in the very same room that my mom and her six siblings shared growing up (it must’ve been quite a squeeze!). I guess what got to me more was the thought of when, if ever, I’ll get such a chance again. I picked up a sketchbook a few days ago (I used to draw a lot, but not in a long time)… so last night, while laying in bed next to my grandma, I had to sketch her real quick. If I had access to a scanner, I’d share. Maybe another time.
Anyway, to sum up my CNY experience so far… on my mom’s side, it’s very lively. All my mom’s siblings and the majority of their families got together all day today. Lotsa good food, lotsa mahjong, lotsa karaoke, and lotsa Skyping with those overseas who couldn’t make it. It was a bit chaotic, cuz’ there were so many people in one space. Oh, and of course… lotsa red envelopes (definitely great to be considered a kid still!). Oh, something else… I guess this was the first time in a very long time that all families were together for CNY (I was the representative for my mom). It’s funny… I think I’m having some “Joy Luck Club” moments. Puahaha.
I am definitely super blessed.
(according to the Lunar calendar)
And yes, I’m alive! So much for blogging everyday this new year. Haha. Well, it’s been busy in Taiwan. I also decided to fast from the computer for 10 days… so I wouldn’t have been able to blog everyday anyway! And… my Internet connection isn’t the best… oh well.
So! Taiwan has been great! I’ve been meeting a lot of awesome peeps, eating a lot of delicious food, and most of all, seeing God do some amazing things over here. I’ll eventually blog about some highlights when I get a chance!
I’m currently in Nantou at my grandma’s ol’ house. It’s a trip to memory lane, cuz’ the last time I was here was when I was in 3rd grade. We’re about to have Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner. I was helping her prep some things earlier… and oh man, I have never in my life had to pluck hairs out of meat that I’d be eating… WHOA. Flashbacks to Manivore. Lol. Anyway, this is my first Chinese New Year’s in Taiwan. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Btw, I would totally be photo blogging or uploading vids… but unfortunately, the external HD I bought for this trip is USELESS. Boo. Here’s a pic I jacked from Howie (proof that I AM taking pics… mostly of food, yah yah~ lol… but I’ll have pics to show eventually!)
That is, three events in one night! If you’re in LA, these are the events to be at:
Ktown Cowboys Fundraiser at Cafe Bleu
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=423538320626
This is a fundraiser for a fun webisodic/film project I had a small role in. If you guys go, you’ll get a sneak peek at the first episode. Should be good! Lots of talented people involved and they can definitely use the support to finish the project!
Open Mic hosted by Aiko Tanaka at Tribal Cafe
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=259642238567
I just saw Aiko kill it at the Comedy Store last week. She’ll be hosting these open mics once a month… so if you’re a stage performer of any sort, get your butt over there! Or if you just enjoy live performance, be sure to check this out.
Eliot Chang’s FREE Show at the Laugh Factory
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=291621911423
Comedy shows are usually pretty expensive when you add everything together: parking/valet, admission, 2 drink minimum, etc… but you can get into this one for FREE and Eliot is freakin’ hilarious. Have you seen him throw imaginary babies across the room? Oh man…
If I weren’t on a plane to Taiwan, I’d totally hit up every single event!
