Chinese Tutor - Sharon Stone runs for president...at Venice art fair

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






Sharon Stone runs for president...at Venice art fair

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-06-08 09:27





Actress Sharon Stone before an Aids Charity Gala Dinner in Vienna, May
24, 2007.[Reuters]

Move over Hillary. Sharon Stone is the only woman running in the 2008
U.S. presidential elections, at least as far as the Venice Biennale art
festival is concerned.

Stone appears in a mock TV campaign ad dreamt up by Italian artist
Francesco Vezzoli and crafted by the same media guru who used to advise
President George W. Bush.

Stone's pseudo-opponent in the art installation is French philosopher
Bernard-Henri Levy, who has the benefit of Bill Clinton's former
consultant in his corner.

Their dueling, 60-second advertisements play simultaneously on video
screens directly across from each other at the Venice Biennale, sometimes
called the "Oscars" of the art world, which opened for a press preview on
Thursday.

"I wanted somebody from Hollywood, which is the place where people search
for the ultimate fiction. And I wanted somebody from the world of
philosophy, which is the search for the ultimate truth," Vezzoli said.

"These would be in obvious conflict, one with the other."

Stone spits out sound bites such as "peace is not just the end of the war
in Iraq." She receives a glowing recommendation from the supposed mother
of a U.S. soldier, who assures that Stone "is going to do right by our
men and women in service."

Political media adviser Mark McKinnon, who engineered the ad, said it
took him four months of production -- all free of charge because of how
"taken" he was by Vezzoli.

"I think politics is a lot about positioning and creating a credible
persona ... and I think this is what Francesco was trying to do," said
McKinnon, who is currently working with Senator John McCain's real-life
campaign.

Vezzoli said his goal was also "to do a deconstruction of the role of
media manipulation." The title of his exhibition is called "Democrazy"
and opens to the public starting on Sunday.

Vezzoli is no stranger to the world of celebrity art. His past videos
have included the likes of French actress Catherine Deneuve and Brazilian
actress Sonia Braga.

His last work at the Biennale was a fake trailer for a fake remake of the
film "Caligula," which included Benicio Del Toro and Courtney Love.

But Vezzoli said some critics, including people who stripped the
"Caligula" trailer off the Web site YouTube, thought that his video short
was too pornographic.

"Maybe they'll find politics too pornographic as well," Vezzoli said.










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Chinese language - Zhou Xun to chase romance in new film

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






Zhou Xun to chase romance in new film

(CRIENGLISH.com)
Updated: 2007-06-05 17:05



After having been involved in big-screen romances with Takeshi Kaneshiro
and Daniel Wu, Chinese actress Zhou Xun will again open her heart
on-screen, this time to another heartthrob - Vic Zhou.

Shanghai Morning Post says that "The Banquet" actress will take on the
leading role as a cab driver in the Huayi Brothers' unnamed love
thriller, crazily searching for her missing boyfriend, who will be played
by Taiwan actor/singer Vic Zhou.

Zhou Xun was named best actress at the 2005 Hong Kong Film Critics
Society Awards for her performance in Peter Chan's "Perhaps Love," which
also stars Takeshi Kaneshiro.

She worked with Daniel Wu in Feng Xiaogang's 2006 hit "The Banquet." The
film received the Future Film Festival Digital Award at that year's
Venice Film Festival.

Sources from Zhou Xun's agent company, Huayi Brothers, say she has been
waiting for a good screenplay ever since "The Banquet," and was drawn by
the new thriller's interesting plot.

Singaporean actress Fann Wong is also expected to appear in the film.

Shooting is set to start next month.











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Chinese Studies - For our leaders, it's child's play to babble on

ENTERTAINMENT / Hot Pot Column






For our leaders, it's child's play to babble on

By Raymond Zhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-06-01 14:12



Today is International Children's Day. Some of our officials just are
pouring out so much love for children that it is becoming unbearable.

A few days ago, a group of officials in Wuhan descended upon a gathering
of children. Busy as they were, they were fashionably late for the
occasion. The children waited under a scorching sun as if they were
sesame seeds to be dried and packaged. When the ceremony finally began,
the officials started their customarily ponderous speeches, one after
another. The gist was, as I can imagine, how children are our future,
etc. They might not have heard the Whitney Houston song but can all
recite the lines.

The band leader, a boy of 11, fainted in the heat.

This has become something of a ritual. A few months ago, in another part
of the country, a group of kids shivered in freezing cold as they were
dressed in flimsy costumes while waiting for a similar function. And
another incident had the children drenched in a downpour.

In the old days, officials saw themselves as the sunshine that brought
warmth and happiness to the masses. The masses, on the other hand, were
literally called "ants", and, of course, children were cutesy ants, ready
to be displayed and paraded like taxidermies.

Things are much better nowadays. We talk down to kids as if their IQ is
in single digits. We drone into them slogans that they turn around and
make into instant jokes.

We adults like to use words, lots of them, to drive the point home
without realizing that actions speak louder than words. In the above
cases, the officials have taught two lessons that the kids wouldn't
forget anytime soon.

First, punctuality is only for lowly species. If you are at the bottom of
the food chain, you must arrive first for a chance to be "received". The
higher you are in social pecking order, the longer you should keep others
milling around in rain or shine or cold.

Second, verbosity is a sign of stature. If you can turn a simple sentence
into five pages, you are a bureaucratic Shakespeare. Never mind the Bard
said brevity is the soul of wit.

Come to think of it, these officials are secret admirers of the
Supergirls. They want the audience to weep and swoon. They want fans who
will wait for hours to exhibit their loyalty. They want their every
syllable to be ecstatically absorbed and hungrily devoured.

So, perhaps we should hold a television contest for them, too. Let them
hone their skills of pomposity. Whoever turns the most vacuous words into
the longest speech gets into the final round.

To add a touch of reality, we can bring in wind machines, rain machines
or dozens of high-wattage lights to simulate the elements. The most
unruffled get extra points.

Of course, there should be text-message voting. But only school-age
children are eligible to vote. The ubiquitous panel of judges should not
be made of celebrities, but of those kids who fainted or caught a cold in
the above stories.

Let's call the show Revenge of the Underaged and make it a Children's Day
pastime.


(China Daily 06/01/2007 page20)
















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Learning Mandarin - Mischa Barton obsessed with Russia

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






Mischa Barton obsessed with Russia

(WENN)
Updated: 2007-05-30 09:05





Mischa Barton



Actress Mischa Barton is becoming so obsessed with Russia while she
prepares to film her next movie in the country, she's teaching herself
how to speak the language.

The O.C. star will be flying to St Petersburg next month to film the
currently unnamed project, and is readying herself for the role, she's
driving her friends mad by constantly listening to a Russian language CD.

She says, "Any spare time I get, I put a Russian CD on. All I need to do
is get a Russian accent but I'm fascinated by Russia."







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Learn Chinese online - Russia's Konstantin Lavronenko wins Cannes best actor

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






Russia's Konstantin Lavronenko wins Cannes best actor

(AFP)
Updated: 2007-05-28 09:36





Russian actor Konstantin Lavronenko (L) and Swedish actress Maria
Bonnevie pose during a photocall for Russian director Andrei
Zviaguintsev's film 'Izgnanie' (The Banishment) at the 60th edition of
the Cannes Film Festival, southern France, 18 May 2007.[AFP]

Russian actor Konstantin Lavronenko won the Cannes film festival's Best
Actor prize Sunday for his role in "The Banishment" by Andrei Zviagintsev.

In the intensely emotional movie, touching on death and remorse,
Lavronenko, 46, plays the role of a man deeply committed to the family
who, on revisiting his father's home, learns his wife is pregnant and
believes she has a lover.

Zviagintsev accepted the prize on behalf of the actor, who was unable to
catch a last-minute flight to France because the Cannes jury deliberated
until shortly before the ceremony.

"I am delighted for Konstantin, more than delighted -- he deserved this
prize," he said.

"I would like to thank the jury, the festival organisers and the public.
I am very happy."

Lavronenko, who starred in the director's previous film, "The Return,"
broke into film after building his career in the theatre.

That picture, in which Lavronenko played an absent father who re-enters
the lives of his two sons more than a decade after disappearing, won the
Golden Lion at the Venice film festival in 2003.

Lavronenko recently appeared in the British television series "Archangel"
with the latest James Bond, Daniel Craig, as well as the Polish film
"Mistrz" by Piotr Trzaskalski.













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Study Chinese - 11-year-old director settles financier suit

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






11-year-old director settles financier suit

(AP)
Updated: 2007-05-24 20:03


LOS ANGELES - An 11-year-old director has settled his lawsuit against a
woman he claimed demanded creative control over his short film after she
helped financed it, his attorney said.

Dominic Scott Kay, a child actor who was the voice of Wilbur the pig in
"Charlotte's Web," sued Conroy Kanter, alleging she demanded creative
control and distribution and promotion rights of "Saving Angelo" after
she put about $11,000 into the project.

The 15-minute movie stars Kevin Bacon and is based on Kay's real-life
effort to nurse an abandoned, badly injured dog back to health.

As part of the settlement, Kanter will receive a producer credit and the
young filmmaker will get full rights to the movie, said Kay's attorney,
Dylan Ruga.

A call to Kanter's attorney was not immediately returned Wednesday.

Kay is still editing the movie and plans to submit it to the Los Angeles
International Short Film Festival, Ruga said.

"Dominic has worked so hard on this film and now finally it can be
finished and widely distribute," he said.










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Study Chinese - Cars clash! Girls strut! Tarantino's at Cannes

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






Cars clash! Girls strut! Tarantino's at Cannes

(AFP)
Updated: 2007-05-22 20:07



The king of pop cinema, Quentin Tarantino, paid homage to 1970s car
action flicks at the Cannes film festival Tuesday with "Death Proof", in
which gears and girls grind for his camera in an exercise heavy on style
but light on substance.

The movie, part of the 22-strong field competing for the festival's Palme
d'Or, won over critics for its knowing winks to obscure muscle-car movies
such as "Vanishing Point" -- and for its grainy stock, "Starsky and
Hutch"-style titles and nostalgia-laden jump cuts.

But many reviewers said it probably wouldn't garner the same big
box-office business as Tarantino's seminal past pictures, notably "Pulp
Fiction" which won the Palme in 1994.

The Cannes screening was in fact taken from a poorly received US
double-feature called "Grindhouse" and extended to two hours for separate
re-release.

"Tarantino's road-rage opus so far exceeds almost anything made at the
time in terms of dialogue and performance that it seems like a different
beast, one half plotless gabfest, the other half insane car chase,"
Variety's Todd McCarthy wrote.

The 44-year-old US director, speaking as far over the speed limit as his
"Death Proof" vehicles, said that "the majority of the stuff I put back
in was stuff I took out of 'Grindhouse'," especially a lap-dance scene
cut from the US version to taunt viewers.

But, essentially, the movie at Cannes sticks to the same road. "It still
follows the basic rules of the genre" of exploitation films, Tarantino
said. It has "a girl raising up at the end to beat the bogeyman."

The film is a rollicking feature that follows an ex-stuntman turned
serial killer who hunts groups of young sassy women with his modified,
strut-reinforced cars.

The first half plays as a horror movie in which Stuntman Mike exults in
his bloody sport. The second sees him meeting his match in two stuntwomen
who apply their own excessive horse- and chick-power to turn the tables
on him.

Kurt Russell, who plays the psychotic stuntman, said he was sceptical
about the re-release.

"I like the short version" of "Death Proof" which paired with "Planet
Terror" by Robert Rodriguez in "Grindhouse", he told journalists.

But Russell accepted that "these movies are going to be seen by
themselves and will have their own life" now.

Tarantino, to the contrary, enthused that his original vision would now
stand alone.

"If you count the minutes it hasn't actually changed that much, but it's
in fact changed 180 degrees." He added that: "This is part of the
revival, religious tent experience I was trying to re-create."

Harvey Weinstein, who produced the movie, agreed, saying the new cut
"will dwarf 'Grindhouse', trust me."










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Chinese Tutor - Grant and Clooney in 'Persuaders' movie

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






Grant and Clooney in 'Persuaders' movie

(WENN)
Updated: 2007-05-21 09:19


Hugh Grant and George Clooney are set to star in a big screen version of
the cult 1970s television series The Persuaders as Lord Brett Sinclair
and Danny Wilde, respectively.

The Hollywood hunks will join forces with actor Ben Stiller, who has gone
behind the cameras to co-produce the movie.

Fellow co-producer Nick Hamson says, "We're very excited about the
project finally coming together.

"It's been an idea we've been keen to pursue and we're so pleased that it
is now in development. People of our generation grew up watching The
Persuaders religiously."








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Pnyin - Fox Walden puts 4 films on its 1st calendar

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






Fox Walden puts 4 films on its 1st calendar

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-05-17 15:40


LOS ANGELES - 20th Century Fox has set the release dates for the first
movies made under the new Fox Walden banner.

The label is a partnership between Fox and Walden Media to market films
the two co-finance.

First out of the gate will be "The Dark Is Rising," which will be
released for the Columbus Day weekend of October 5. The movie, which
centers on a young man who learns that he is the last of a group of
mythical warriors, stars Ian McShane, Frances Conroy, Christopher
Eccleston, Gregory Smith and Jonathan Jackson and is directed by David L.
Cunningham. The film is wrapping shooting in Romania.

Walden and Mandate Pictures' co-production "Mr. Magorium's Wonder
Emporium" is scheduled for November 16. Zach Helm wrote the script and is
making his directorial debut on the picture, which stars Dustin Hoffman,
Natalie Portman and Jason Bateman.

"Nim's Island," which goes into production in the summer, has staked out
an April 25 release date. Jodie Foster and Abigail Breslin star in the
movie, about a magical place ruled by a young girl's imagination. The
film is being directed by Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett.

Fox Walden is planting a flag on Columbus Day 2008 (October 10) for the
sci-fi adventure "City of Ember," which will be directed by Gil Kenan
("Monster House"). The movie is a Walden and Playtone co-production, with
Playtone's Gary Goetzman and Tom Hanks producing.












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Learn Chinese online - Jolie: more kids, no wedding

ENTERTAINMENT / Gossip






Jolie: more kids, no wedding

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-05-11 08:59





Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie arrive at the 64th annual Golden Globe
Awards in Beverly Hills January 15, 2007. [Reuters]

Angelina Jolie wants more children, more quality time with partner Brad
Pitt, and no, they're not fighting, getting married or worrying about the
gossip.

In an interview with Reader's Digest released on Thursday, Jolie, 31,
dismissed persistent reports in celebrity magazines that her relationship
with Pitt was on the rocks because of their growing family and work
commitments.

Asked whether they fight, Jolie said; "Not really. We'll get into issues
about global events."

"Our first question is, what paper is it in? The New York Times? If not,
do we really need to worry?" she said of the unrelenting gossip.

In March, the Oscar-winning actress adopted her third child, Pax, 3, from
Vietnam, bringing her brood to four. She acknowledged she and Pitt had a
problem finding quality time in the first weeks after the arrival of Pax,
who joined Cambodian refugee Maddox, 5, Ethiopian refugee Zahara, 2, and
Shiloh, Jolie's daughter with Pitt, who was born in May 2006.

"We hang out. We try to talk over the swing set... (Pax) still gets
scared if I'm gone more than a few hours. But we'll get them organized
with a movie and popcorn and try to run off and lock the door for a bit,"
she said.

Asked whether she wanted more children, she said; "Yeah, yeah. More
biological, more adopted."

Jolie said she adopted Pax so that Maddox would have a brother who looked
like him. "It became clear to us that it might be important to have
somebody around who is similar to the other children so they have a
connection."

She said she and Pitt had no plans to wed. "We've both been married
before. Our focus when we got together was family, and we are legally
bound to our children. That really seems to be the most important thing,"
she said.










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Learn mandarin - Fracture

ENTERTAINMENT / Review






Fracture

By Jan Stuart (Newsday)
Updated: 2007-04-30 11:18


There is a shot of Ryan Gosling in the new crime thriller "Fracture,"
tooling down a residential street in Los Angeles behind the wheel of a
well-used red BMW. The famous Hollywood sign sprawls across the hills
behind him, floating above his head like a white crown. His face wears a
look of assurance, contentment even, emanating with the unmistakable heat
of a guy who has finally arrived.

The shot bespeaks the self-satisfied glory of his character, Willy
Beachum, an assistant district attorney whose fierce 97 percent
conviction rate has bagged him a position in one of the city's primo law
firms. But it also radiates with the triumph of a deserving young actor
who, having carefully nurtured his street cred with a succession of
excellent indie roles and one slushy commercial hit ("The Notebook"), is
now a player in the big town.

In "Fracture," Gosling gets to play the fool to a malevolent Anthony
Hopkins, a potentially thankless role that did wonders for Jodie Foster
on another occasion. Hopkins' character, a brainy, well-heeled mechanical
engineer named Ted Crawford, lacks the extensive murder resume of his
Hannibal Lecter; Ted merely shot his wife point-blank, leaving her
unconscious and uneaten. But he takes a page or two from Lecter's rule
book, reveling in head games that reduce his confident opponents to
quivering, ineffectual blobs of Jell-O.

We smell trouble the minute Gosling's character takes on the prosecution
of Crawford's crime, just as he's about to walk out the door to his
lucrative new job. Beachum is just too cocky; he needs to be knocked down
a peg or two. What's more, the case stinks to heaven. Having attempted to
kill his wife (Embeth Davidtz) for cheating on him and then having
barricaded himself against the cops, Crawford welcomes a hostage
negotiator (Billy Burke) into his house with open arms. Crawford is
hauled away; a murder weapon is removed; a confession is signed. Done
deal.

But it's too open and shut to be that easy, and besides, it's just the
beginning of the picture. We recognize that wily glint in Hopkins' eye
from "The Silence of the Lambs," and we already understand the havoc a
man is capable of wreaking from the confinement of a jail cell. Once
Crawford steps up to serve as his own attorney, you know that the young
prosecutor's professional unmaking is about to commence.

Directed with a sure hand by Gregory Hoblit (who knows something about
cocky attorneys and devious criminals from "Primal Fear"), "Fracture"
walks a thin line between fulfilling expectations and confounding them.
Screenwriter Daniel Pyne does a reasonably good job in balancing the
battle of wits between his rising legal-eagle and his calculating
wife-killer.

The casting of the overexposed Hopkins ends up working against their
efforts, however: It's almost too obvious to be fresh and interesting. I
found myself resenting the niggling feeling that I was supposed to find
Crawford's pinprick wit kind of cool, in that gotcha Hannibal way.

To his credit, Gosling retrieves some of the scenery before Hopkins can
swallow it whole, injecting Willy Beachum's swagger with a measure of
vulnerability that makes his precipitous fall from grace rending to
watch. Gosling is the real deal. One hopes that as his star ascends,
he'll maintain the grip on terra firma required to prevent his
character's hubris from becoming his own.










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Chinese Character - It's bliss to count sheep at my local barber

ENTERTAINMENT / Hot Pot Column






It's bliss to count sheep at my local barber

By Graham Bond (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-04-26 21:41


Since the sudden and, frankly, disturbing revival of the Happy Hardcore
musical movement in my Guangdong hometown, I've tended to shun the local
pubs and clubs, opting instead to get my weekend kicks in the
hairdressers. I've long been a fan of the Chinese hair wash. Some of the
local establishments may not be suitable to take the wife, or mother, for
a visit. However, such is my love of the purer pleasures of the salon
experience that I have introduced both to visit my favorite joint.

Last Friday night comprised my usual hour-long wash and blow-dry. All the
normal routines were observed: The five-minute struggle to get the
air-conditioner working was lively as ever; the conversation about the
fact my feet were hanging off the end of the bed followed a well-trodden
path; we danced around the subject of whether I wanted my ears cleaning
me trying not to sound too eager, my attendant implying she didn't wash
the aural passages of just anybody.

With an impressive five lathers and rinses behind us, "No.17" (as she
insisted I call her) said my hour was up and suggested that I "xiuxi,
xiuxi" ("rest, rest"). I had just spent the last hour being pampered as
only a 21st Century metrosexual can without enduring severe dignity loss
and/or a beating behind the bike sheds. I had spent not one calorie on
mental or physical exertion (beyond, perhaps, burning off a baozi when
trying to remember how to say: "Could you turn the Happy Hardcore down a
jot?"). And here I was, being told that what I really needed to do now
was take a proper rest.

The Chinese word "xiuxi" does not equate to having a lie-in, reading a
book, or playing golf. The xiuxi is a paradox worthy of Laozi: The xiuxi
that looks like a xiuxi is not a true xiuxi. For example, that hair wash
didn't count because, one, somebody was touching me, and, two, I was
chatting with the person next to me. A real Chinese xiuxi is about
closing one's eyes and shutting down all life systems. It's about
momentarily ignoring the 1.3 billion people and retreating into your own
personal bubble. It's meditative, man.

A xiuxi is what unfolds when a hard-pedaling courier slumps himself
across his metal cart and takes a nap beside a six-lane city center
thoroughfare. It's what travelers do when they close eyes and pull
beatific expressions as the aircraft's engines scream on take-off. It's
what I do when somebody tries to press advertising material into my hand.

It's also what Chinese shops do when they want to close for the day. I
love the way shop signs don't use that cold, unfriendly word "closed" but
prefer "resting" instead. The owners haven't gone anywhere. They're
probably asleep on a table somewhere out back. Bang hard enough on the
door and they may even awake and let you in. In China, the xiuxi may be a
beautiful thing, but it's only ever temporary. Especially where Happy
Hardcore is concerned.


(China Daily 04/26/2007 page20)










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HSK - Pining for Willie, smashing a vicious cycle

ENTERTAINMENT / Hot Pot Column






Pining for Willie, smashing a vicious cycle

By Patrick Whiteley (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-04-16 16:02


What's one way to make Chinese city slickers laugh out loud? Tell them
your bicycle has been stolen. I'm sure they'll all sympathize a bit, but
not too much. Why? Because most Chinese know that empty feeling of
falling victim to these dirty rotten scoundrels.

It seems bicycle thieves are busier than a Beijing bricklayer and this
month it was my turn to throw a bit of business their way.

My bike was a Forever brand, but it should have been called Six Months.
That's how long it lasted.

I bought my beloved bicycle, which I named Willie, for 200 yuan at a
department store. For about $20, I thought I scored a bargain, but my
colleagues said I paid too much, and should never have bought a new bike.

"You don't want it to stand out," said one of the many bicycle security
experts who I now call Nostradamus. If only I'd listened.

China has 470 million bicycles, but about one out of every 100 is
reported nicked. In large cities, it is so rampant that some poor sods
have had their bikes stolen many times. Now that's what you call a
vicious cycle.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, about 4 million bicycles
are reported missing every year. So that means many more are stolen
because I'm sure many people, like me, don't report it. In one of the
world's biggest bicycle cities, what's the chance of finding Willie?

Just imagine the reaction of a Beijing policeman. "Excuse me officer, my
bicycle has been stolen and his name is Willie. Can you help me?"

This year six government agencies announced a joint nationwide crackdown
on bike theft and I'm on board. Rewards of up to 5000 yuan ($650) are
being offered to people giving information on stolen bicycles.

At the launch, a young handicapped man from Nanchang, in East China, said
he lost his new electric bike, which cost him three years' savings. "I
even thought of committing suicide several times," he said.

I know how he feels.

I'm not going to neck myself over $20, but my bike was not just any old
bike. It was my bike; it was my dearest friend in China; it was Willie.

Willie understood all my problems and every Chinese word I ever said. He
would never correct me, although he mostly had very good reason. Willie
was also patient and kind and loved to hear my country songs as I peddled
around the capital.

Now I'm on my own singing Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain.

In Sichuan Province the locals have bicycle thieves well and truly
collared. They are using a born-again dog to protect their bikes with
stunning success.

Benji was abandoned and taken in by the residents of a local hospital.
They offered him food, bathed him and found him a place to stay in the
bicycle garage. Benji is now paying back the kindness by being one damn
smart watchdog.

The little fellow knows all the bicycle owners and if a thief appears he
barks loudly. He's attacked at least one. Since Benji has been on the job
he has helped security guards catch six thieves. Not one bicycle has been
stolen.


(China Daily 04/13/2007 page20)











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Chinese Character - Beijing subway trains get security cameras

CITYLIFE / Hip & New






Beijing subway trains get security cameras

(Beijing this month)
Updated: 2007-04-04 11:15



Beijing subway operator completed installation of cameras inside Metro
Line 1 and 2 trains at the end of March to improve management.

The Metro operation company has equipped 108 subway carriages with
cameras, according to the Beijing Evening News reported on March 11.

Each car has two cameras. The operator will install cameras on the other
300 train cars of the two lines by the end of March. The move is expected
to help the operator monitor the lines and take immediate measures in
case of emergency. The operator will also install 1,558 cameras on the 42
subway stations of the two lines.











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Study Chinese - Ear massage A natural remedy

CITYLIFE / Hip & New






Ear massage A natural remedy

(Beijing today)
Updated: 2007-03-27 10:54


The ear, an oft-neglected body part, has a special place in the human
system. When you discover how effective ear massage is and how effective
it is for the body, you may be stunned: for many of life's discomforts,
ear massage provides a simple, non-invasive answer.


Mechanism

Within the ear's system is a collection of links that offer direct routes
to the central and peripheral nervous sstems, Yin Lin, a surgeon from
Beijing Biotinge Medical Spa, says. The auricle of the ear can be viewed
as a microsystem of pressure points connected to the entire body. For
example, if your shoulder aches, you can feel relief if the "shoulder
area" of the ear is pressed, similar to the microsystems thought to be on
the feet, face, legs and back.Clinically, doctors are interested in the
access to body systems offered by pressure points in the ear, Lin, says.
Stimulating the ear's pressure points is referred to as auriculotherapy.
It was discovered by the French in 1950, and then picked up and studied
by Chinese doctors.While auriculotherapy can be used to address a
countless array of health issues, treatments targeting pain relief and
addiction have demonstrated some of the most dramatic responses.

Pain relief

Studies conducted by Michael Smith, a physician who practices Oriental
Medicine in New York City, suggest that applying pressure to specific ear
locations can relieve body pain. Ear stimulation triggers the release of
the body's natural painkillers'endorphins - chemicals poduced in the
brain that reduce pain and lift the mood, Smith says.

By rubbing the ear, doctors can access nearly every part of the body's
anatomy. Ear massage also aids in adjusting hormone and neurotransmitter
levels in the body and brain. For many diseases with no known treatment,
the ear's pressure points may offer a way to effectively reduce symptoms
and increase the quality of life.

Addiction


Ear stimulation is utilized world-over to help reduce drug dependence and
assist in detoxification of addicts. A new attempt by St John's Mercy
Medical Center in Washington is using ear stimulation as a fast, safe and
painless way to quit smoking.The area of the ear accessed in addiction
treatment is the concha, Lin says. The two hollow areas of the outer ear
correspond to the autonomic nervous system via the vagus nerve, and
stimulating these areas can enhance relaxation and help to maintain
balance.

Useful resources

Learning more about anatomy and the map of the ear can help add a new
level of healing to basic ear massage.

1.Auriculotherapy Manual, 1998, Terry Oleson, PhD, Health Care
Alternatives

2. auriculotherapy.com

Dr Terry Oleson provides answers to plenty of FAQs readers may have.

3. emedicine.com

An online collection of free massage information.

Simple and inexpensive home remedies are grabbing more attention thanks
to their DIY novelty, lack of serious side effects and sometimes utter
absurdity. Beijing Today presents some weird remedies submitted by
numerous netizens to show how home remedies work, and how people use
crazy cures to stay fit and healthy.

1 2










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HSK - Cats and dogs join Pet Show

CITYLIFE / Hip & New






Cats and dogs join Pet Show

(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2007-03-15 11:36


Three hundred cats and 500 dogs will compete for top honors in an
international pet pageant this weekend and on Monday.

The 4th China Pets' Carnival will be held at the Shanghai International
Exhibition Center on Loushan'guan Road, according to event organizers,
the small-animal protection association under the Shanghai Pasture and
Veterinary Academy.

The dogs, taking part in the carnival's annual canine competition, will
be joined for the first time by their feline friends, who hail from
China, Malaysia, Philippines, Japan and Thailand.

Tickets for the show cost 50 yuan (US$6.4).

The four judges for the cat contest come from the United States,
Australia and Japan.










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� Delicacies from minorities

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� Get your discount before dinner





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Learn mandarin - `The Host' intense, darkly funny

ENTERTAINMENT / Review






`The Host' intense, darkly funny

(AP)
Updated: 2007-03-07 08:31




Magnolia Pictures' The Host - 2007

An update of the classic Asian monster movies of yore, "The Host" boasts
a wicked sense of humor and vastly improved special effects. (Not once do
you see a zipper up the back of a rubber suit.)

Korean writer-director Bong Joon-Ho has crafted a film that just kicks
butt from start to finish, even though its anti-American sentiment feels
a bit half-baked. He is clearly well-acquainted with the genre, though,
and is confident enough in his abilities to make it his own.

Reminiscent of another recent smart, sly horror movie, 2004's "Shaun of
the Dead," "The Host" begins with a dry, frequently absurd comic
sensibility, but steadily grows darker, more intense and truly thrilling.

Pollution in Seoul's Han River (caused by a thoughtless American
scientist, naturally) gives birth to a freakishly large, angry, mutant
fish that's a marvel to behold - the product of a collaboration between
the visual effects specialists at Weta Workshop (the "Lord of the Rings"
trilogy) and The Orphanage ("Sin City").

The creature is at once familiar and unlike anything you've seen before:
It swings gracefully from bridges, leaps from the water to lash people
with its long tail, and frequently just hops up on shore and runs after
its prey. And the first time we see it, it thunders onto the scene - no
oppressively melodramatic music to accompany its arrival, which makes it
even more powerful. The monster knows how to make an entrance (and so
does Bong.)

Oh, did we mention? The fish has feet. And several buggy eyes that sprout
all over its scaly head and a mouth that opens like a tulip to suck
people in and either a) spit them back out or b) devour them to their
bones. Very clever and cool.

One of the victims it picks up and scampers off with is teenage
schoolgirl Hyun-seo (Ko A-sung), which forces her slacker dad, Gang-du
(Song Kang-ho), and the rest of her dysfunctional family to spring into
action to rescue her.

Hyun-seo's aunt, Nam-joo (Bae Doo-na), is a competitive archer with a
propensity for choking at the most crucial moments (though her skills do
come in handy as the film progresses). Her uncle, Nam-il (Park Hae-il),
is the family's comparative success story: He actually has a college
degree, though he has no job. And family patriarch Heui-bong (Byeon
Heui-bong) runs a longtime food stand on the banks of the river, where
Gang-du works but mostly snoozes.

At first they assume Hyun-seo is dead, along with countless others who
fell in the path of the monster's rampage; rather than console each
other, they collapse in a pile of kicking and slapping and laying blame
for her fate. But then they receive a scratchy cell phone call from the
sewer and realize she's still alive �� and that they must save her, even
though they have absolutely no clue what they're doing.

They're a Korean version of the "Little Miss Sunshine" clan, complete
with a minivan (which they've stolen), which would seem annoyingly trite
if it weren't so curiously charming in itself. They're so well developed,
you really grow to care about these people.

Meanwhile, a hysteria is spreading across the region, as it seems anyone
who came into contact with the monster is carrying a deadly virus (hence
the title). The government borrows a U.S. military device for cleansing
the area: the very mysterious Agent Yellow, which causes nothing but
paranoia and panic. Basically, everything American in the film causes
paranoia and panic, a political concept Bong broaches but never truly
fleshes out.

But the director does know how to create a mood that tingles with
suspense; he grabs you and doesn't let go, and he doesn't go for the easy
ending. And that's anti-American too, in the best possible way.

"The Host," a Magnolia Pictures release, is rated R for creature violence
and language. Running time: 119 minutes. Three stars out of four.











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Free Chinese Lesson - Why so many Chinese go home during Spring Festival?

CITYLIFE / Hip & New






Why so many Chinese go home during Spring Festival?

(chinanews.cn)
Updated: 2007-02-25 09:27



Every year, whenever Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) arrives, a lot of
Chinese people cannot wait to go home. They queue for long hours in front
of the ticket offices in railway stations, or do whatever they can in
order to get a ticket. They tolerate the long journey on the train only
to have a family reunion with their near and dear ones. Several days ago,
the Beijing Youth Daily Social Investigation Center carried an
investigation to 5,000 people online. The survey shows that most people
regard buying a ticket home as the most important thing during the Spring
Festival holiday. 33.2% of the people say what they fear most now is that
they can't get a ticket to go home. Why is Spring Festival so important
to Chinese people?

The Beijing Youth Daily recently published an editorial on this question.
According to the editorial, most Chinese celebrate the Spring Festival
not only because they want to follow tradition, there are also some
practical reasons to explain Chinese people��s fever for the big holiday.
Compared with one's workplace, home provides a more humane environment
for one to relax oneself.

Society may do with or without you, but at home, you become unique and
indispensable. You may be the father or mother, daughter or son,
grandfather or grandmother in the family and the family will be
incomplete if anyone is absent, because every member in the family is
bound together by the ties of kinship, and everyone in the family is
pleased with the feeling that he or she is unique and irreplaceable.

In addition, family provides an ideal environment for one to fully relax
oneself. At home, one can take one's time do whatever he or she wants,
and one can spend money whenever one likes. In society, however, one
needs to do everything fast and with high efficiency, because time is
money, and society always pursues efficiency and maximum profits. Such
company ethics make people merely a tool in modern society.

Chinese people's deep yearning for Spring Festival demonstrates that they
feel oppressed and have a sense of predicament of existence in modern
society. The Spring Festival provides a chance for them to escape from
such anxiety and cherish the long-lost tradition of community spirit.
With the Spring Festival, people can find back the warm, family
atmosphere often seen in days gone by.










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HSK Exam - Beijing to collect rental tax

CITYLIFE / Hip & New






Beijing to collect rental tax

(CRI)
Updated: 2007-02-08 14:03


Starting from February, Beijing will begin collecting taxes from those
renting out their property.

The Beijing Local Taxation Bureau announced the regulation asking
landlords to pay 5 percent of the rent they charge as rental tax.

Some real estate insiders say the new regulation will not have a
significant impact on the housing market. Jin Yusong is manager of
Homelink Housing Real Estate Agency.

"Take a house with a monthly rent of 2,000 yuan or around 250 US dollars
for example. The landlord should pay 100 yuan or around US$12 for the
tax. Compared with the seasonal fluctuations in rent, which usually run
from 100 to 200 yuan, the tax is not a big deal."

Even more, some experts say the regulation is not feasible, as there is
currently no system for supervising rent collection. As there is no
comprehensive list of house rentals in Beijing, it would be difficult to
get landlords to pay the bill.










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Eating out: Reignite the spark
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Free Chinese Lesson - The curse of the flowery pajamas

ENTERTAINMENT / Hot Pot Column






The curse of the flowery pajamas

By Zhen Dai (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-01-30 08:58



A new kindergarten was about to open in our community. To promote itself,
it invited children between 2 and 5 years of age and their parents for a
New Year party. Despite my child's tender age, I decided to share in the
fun.

But before we went, there was a decision to make: What should I wear?

It had been raining for a few days and I'd stayed home in my comfy cotton
pajamas with flowery patterns.

Would it be okay to wear this to a kindergarten near my home? No, because
once outside, it's public sphere and one shouldn't show up in homely
clothing; yes, because many people walk the streets and roam department
stores in pajamas.

I reckoned it was not too outlandish to wear my flowery cotton pajamas in
the neighborhood.

As I groped for an excuse for my laziness, my son had opened the cupboard
and carried a pair of boots to me, urging: "Nuo, nuo!"

Okay, no more hesitation. I couldn't possibly match boots with pajamas.
As a responsible parent, even if I couldn't earn honor for my child, at
least I shouldn't make him lose face.

Now attired in jeans and a gray overcoat, I walked out holding my son's
hand.

At the kindergarten, many children and their parents (mostly mothers)
were already having fun. Wow, the mums looked great: Some were in
jodhpurs with long boots, others in overcoat with short skirts, and yet
others in colorful leather outfits. They were some treat for the eye!

Honestly, I barely made it to even average level. A cold fear suddenly
gripped me: Lucky, I didn't stick to my flowery pajamas plan! An instant
promise was born: I shall not be so careless the next time.

Observing the mummies who looked like flowers dancing in the breeze, I
found myself murmuring: "Peer pressure." I had thought that peer pressure
comes from my classmates, friends, colleagues, neighbors and my husband's
female colleagues.

That day, it dawned on me: Peer pressure can also come from the mothers
of your son's pals!

Peer pressure certainly plunges one into depression, but it should also
be applauded. Imagine, if everyone neglected peer pressure, the whole
city would be cursed by flowery cotton pajamas.

That night, I exchanged the experience and lessons of the New Year party
with two of my bosom friends.

One replied: "Yours was nothing compared with mine. The other day, my
child insisted on sending my wedding ring to the mother of his classmate
Feifei.

"He said my fingers were thick and the ring didn't look good on my hand.
It would look good on the slim finger of Feifei's mother."

The other friend recounted an incident that is forever etched in her
memory. She was wearing her flowery pajamas as she walked with her child
in the sunny garden downstairs. Another child and his nanny were already
playing there.

As the children played, the nanny came up to my friend for a chat. She
asked: "How much do you get a month from this family?"

My dear friend stuck her hands deep in the pockets of her flowery pajamas
and replied meekly: "I am this child's mother."

The article first appeared in Sanlian Life Week


(China Daily 01/30/2007 page20)










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Study Chinese - More disputes about Starbucks

CITYLIFE / Hip & New






More disputes about Starbucks

(CRI)
Updated: 2007-01-18 13:33




The Starbucks cafe in the Chenghuang Temple area of Shanghai. [Photo:
niany.yculblog.com]
A Starbucks coffee outlet in the Shanghai Chenghuang Temple area has
stirred new disputes.

Chenghuang Temple, one of the 10 cultural scenic spots in Shanghai, is an
important cultural place featuring ancient buildings of styles from the
Ming and Qing dynasties and stores of long standing.

The appearance, signboard and decoration of Starbucks have been modified
in line with the architectural styles of Chenghuang Temple when the
outlet opened seven years ago. However, many visitors have expressed
their repulsion towards it.

"I think that China should maintain its cultural characteristics and
western countries should keep theirs. The two flavors should not be mixed
up."

Although most people feel a Starbucks around Chenghuang Temple is odd,
some of them say they can accept it.

"It is just a place for relaxation. There is no cultural conflict here
and it is nice to have some foreign brands in this traditional place."

In 2000, the opening of Starbucks business inside the 600-hundred-old
Forbidden City aroused a hot debate on whether foreign brands should be
allowed at important places of traditional Chinese culture.

Related: Will Starbucks move from the Forbidden City?












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� Horoscopes help you find the special gifts

� Romantic Valentine's Day dinner

� Jazz up your life

� Sports' dress codes

� The high price of love





Beijing Guide




Eating out: The Revolution lives on!
Bars&Cafes: VJ meets DJ at Centro
Weekend&Holiday: Summer Palace to hold "Royal carnival"
Shopping: Gift ideas for Valentine's Day
What's on: Love dance







Shanghai Guide


Eating out: Reignite the spark
Bars&Cafes: Cave-like club
Weekend&Holiday: Forefront of celebration
Shopping: The way to a girl's heart
What's on: Lovers of 'Era'





Learn Chinese, Learn mandarin, Learning Materials, Mandarin audio lessons, Chinese writing lessons, Chinese vocabulary lists, About chinese characters, News in Chinese, Go to China, Travel to China, Study in China, Teach in China, Dictionaries, Learn Chinese Painting, Your name in Chinese, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese songs, Chinese proverbs, Chinese poetry, Chinese tattoo, Beijing 2008 Olympics, Mandarin Phrasebook, Chinese editor, Pinyin editor, China Travel, Travel to Beijing,

Chinese Pinyin - Chinese elders keep up with fashion

CITYLIFE / Hip & New






Chinese elders keep up with fashion

(chinanews.cn )
Updated: 2007-01-10 10:39


Blogs are the newest cyber way for the general public to publish their
thoughts, and are usually considered as the favorite of fashionable
youths only. However, many Chinese senior citizens have set up blogs of
their own. In fact, they have their own online forums, too.

The web site that provides these fashionable services is oldkids.cn, and
it has no less than 600 subscribers currently.

Bicycling as a sport also has its supporters among the elderly. Several
elder bicycling lovers in Shanghai have founded their own club, and they
have travelled around Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces on bicycles. Many
elderly people will not content themselves with walking along park lanes,
They love professional gyms better, especially yoga and Latin dance.

Senior citizens have become a new growth point in tourism in Shanghai,
too. Statistics show that nearly 35% of outbound travellers from Shanghai
are senior citizens.










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Tibet and know more interesting tour routes leading to this divine place.
Please click here!

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sights from mysterious Yunnan Province!Yunnan New Film Project,Travel
with the film.Wanna know more? Please click here!




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Study Chinese - Apply for temporary driving license in China

CITYLIFE / Hip & New






Apply for temporary driving license in China

(chinanews.cn)
Updated: 2006-12-29 09:32


Foreigners who have driving license issued by their home countries can
apply for a temporary driving license and drive in China without having
to take related tests, according to a clause in a regulation issued by
the Ministry of Public Security. The regulation will start to take effect
from January 1, 2007, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

The regulation, which deals with the management of automobiles and
foreigners that come to China for a short stay, stipulates that the valid
period for the temporary driving license should not exceed the period
marked in the entry and exit certificates, and the temporary license can
be valid for three months at most. The valid period can not be extended.
In addition, the temporary driving license should be used together with
foreigners' driving license issued at his or her home country and
foreigners should always take these two licenses with them, in case
traffic police ask them to show these licenses at any time.

Although foreigners who have obtained their driving license at home can
get their temporary driving license in China without having to take
related tests, they need to attend lessons to study Chinese road safety
regulations, before they can drive in China. And they can only drive
small cars or automatic-gear cars.

If foreigners will stay for a relatively long time in China, they can
consider obtaining an official driving license in China. To do so, they
should take their foreign driving licenses and valid ID cards to the
automobile management bureau, fill up the automobile driving license
application form, take related physical examination, and attend a traffic
regulation test. Once they have fulfilled all these procedures and passed
related tests and exams, they can get the official driving license issued
by the Chinese government.












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Tibet and know more interesting tour routes leading to this divine place.
Please click here!

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sights from mysterious Yunnan Province!Yunnan New Film Project,Travel
with the film.Wanna know more? Please click here!




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� Fit for fat in Beijing

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� Season of sales

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Chinese School - To type or to hand write

CITYLIFE / Hip & New






To type or to hand write

(CRI)
Updated: 2006-12-14 10:55



As computers become all the more popular in China, Chinese people are
increasingly relying on alphabet-based keyboards to input pictographic
Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end
up forgetting the exact strokes of each Chinese character when writing on
paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.

Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using
a computer as early as primary school. 9-year-old Wang Tong is a primary
school student.

"With the advanced technology, we now seldom write by hand."

And computer dependence is more wide-spread among university students.
Almost all their assignments and essays are typed on a computer.

All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.

It's faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that's why
computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But
when people are getting increasingly dependent on computers, problems
appear.

"When I'm writing with a pen, I find I often can't remember how to write
a character, though I feel I��m familiar with it."

"I'm not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper."

Though many students can't write the correct characters or even can't
write by hand, they don't feel this is something to worry about. Now that
it's more convenient and efficient to write on a computer, why bother to
handwrite?

Then is handwriting really useless?

Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei is the headmaster of a famous
primary school in the capital.

"Chinese characters enjoy both practical and artistic value. But those
characters typed with computer keyboards only maintain their practical
value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting
contains the writer's emotion. That's why it's emotional."

Shi Liwei also says aesthetic handwriting will add credit to young people.

"Through one's handwriting, people can get to know one's thinking and
personality. If a person can write beautifully, people will have a better
first impression of them."

To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing
have made writing classes compulsory and in universities, some professors
are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.










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Pilgrimage to Tibet If you want to get a detailed Travel Handbook to
Tibet and know more interesting tour routes leading to this divine place.
Please click here!

Yunnan New Film Project Ten female directors from China! Ten unique
sights from mysterious Yunnan Province!Yunnan New Film Project,Travel
with the film.Wanna know more? Please click here!




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Shanghai Guide


Eating out: For sweet toothed-netizens
Bars&Cafes: Bubbling serie of Champagne nights
Weekend&Holiday: Newsboys to perform
Shopping: Loewe, Trussardi open third Shanghai stores
What's on: Faze Action





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HSK Exam - Spears and Hilton spend holiday together

ENTERTAINMENT / Music






Spears and Hilton spend holiday together

(hollywood.com)
Updated: 2006-11-28 09:10





Britney Spears and Paris Hilton hit the clubs together in Los Angeles
almost every night over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and even went
shopping with Spears' son in tow.

The pair, who hung out in Las Vegas the previous weekend, have been
regularly enjoying each other's company since Spears filed for divorce
from Kevin Federline earlier this month.

They kicked-off the festivities on Tuesday when Spears, 24, went to a
post-American Music Awards party Hilton hosted at her West Hollywood home.

The following night, they were spotted at Teddy's at the Roosevelt Hotel
in matching leopard-print outfits, while Spears�� estranged husband
Federline was hosting an album party across town.

On Friday, Hilton left her sister Nicky and friends at the nightclub Les
Deux to pick up Spears and the pair stopped at Hyde Lounge before
eventually heading back to Les Deux.

On Saturday, the pair were back in action, shopping in Malibu with
Spears' son, Sean Preston, before heading back to Hyde to party with
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen later that night.

A source who saw them at Hyde Friday tells People magazine, "Paris was
acting like Britney's boyfriend.

"She opened doors for her, held her hand, and even had her arm around
Britney's lower back. Britney happily accepted Paris' friendly gestures'."







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