Results tagged “stars”

Scientists at the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing supposedly caught footage of a UFO in the sky during July's solar eclipse. A UFO and an eclipse in the same day? What luck!

In this interview with the South China Morning Post, Yao Ming fields questions related to his injury, his chances of playing at the Olympics and the Sichuan earthquake.

So you might have heard that Jackie Chan (成龙) recently went to Australia to bury his father, who died of cancer at the age of 93.Well, what you might not have known is that Jackie Chan's father Charlie, aka Fang Daolong, had a whole other family (Jackie's mother was his second wife) that he lost touch with and then had to leave behind in 1949. There was an article called "Enter the Parents" written a few years ago that gave some of the background. The video above covers some of the same ground, but was made more recently, as it mentions the thorny issue of why Jackie doesn't want to get in touch with his half-brothers Fang Shisheng and Fang Shide, especially when their father died and there was a funeral to attend. The interviews also broach the question of whether or not they are revealing their identities so openly now in hoping of getting some of Jackie's (and his father's) money. To this question they reply that it would be a lie to say that they aren't hoping for some help (university tuition, jobs for the young uns) but are NOT coveting Jackie's wealth. The video is in Chinese.

We attended the Chicago Improv All-Stars show at Henry's last night ... and we enjoyed ourselves. It kind of had the feel of a theme party at a friend's house (assuming that friend was very popular, brewed their own beer, had a very large living room with poorly placed pillars, was bad at training their staff and charged guests RMB 280 at the door). If you have ever seen an episode of Whose Line...

See the Chicago Improv All-Stars!

One of the things that makes being on the tube during rush hour even more miserable than we had previously imagined possible is the "film" made by Starbucks and Pepsi showing on the subway TV. Titled 晴天日记 (Qingtian riji), the film is about a young man and a young woman, blah blah blah. Of course the film takes place in Shanghai but most of the scenes take place in Starbucks. We think the whole rationale...

Even though today might be Friday, for many of us it isn't the start of the weekend. With the upcoming National Day vacation period approaching, many people are stuck in their offices over the weekend to make up for the extended break. This has carried over into the live music scene, with only a few note worthy shows before the craziness that starts next week. The Jazz it Up week of music continues with a performance tonight by the Shanghai Music Conservatory Jazz band. Out at I Love Shanghai, Didgeridoo lover, Didjelirium will perform, backed by DJ Michael Dean. Things start to pick up on Saturday with the 8th installment of the Back to the Roots party, a must see for any fan of hip-hop, soul or funk. CMCB those, Linkin' Park-esque, rappers from Beijing will be playing out at the Dream Factory. If watching and listening to a man blow on an object made out of brass (or maybe some other metal) is your thing, then don't miss Bob Mintzer and the All-star band who will be wrapping up the Jazz it Up festival on Saturday night. Mintzer is an astounding saxophonist and will be joined on stage by a multitude of Grammy award winners.

So, why do heavy bands employ the devilish double dot? To quote Spinal Tap guitarist David St. Hubbins (not to be confused with Shanghai-based English-language magazine freelancer, David Hubbins): "It’s like a pair of eyes. You're looking at the umlaut, and it's looking at you." Spinal Tap, incidentally, also rocks the umlaut, but it’s over the “n” -- and since that combination doesn’t exist in any language, it can’t be replicated on this page -- at least not using our version of Word. (Tap fans will also be aware that there is no dot over the “i” in the group’s name).

The Santo Chino Ride continues, and Christopher now finds himself at the base of Huangshan in Anhui Province, struggling to wake up early enough to climb the mountain (he's not a morning person). We'd like to make one clarification: In yesterday's report, we failed to mention the full scope of Hands on Shanghai's Rising Stars program. In addition to the mentor program we mentioned, the bulk of the money generated from the Santo Chino Ride will go directly toward paying for the educations of the urban poor -- children who come from families trying to survive on less than RMB 300 (US$36) per month. You can donate to the trip here.

Last week, we told you about Christopher St. Cavish, the American chef who quit his job at the Shanghai Shangri-la and decided to ride a refurbished Chang Jiang sidecar motorcycle across China -- for charity. He left Shanghai on Sunday. St. Cavish is looking for companies and individuals to sponsor the ride he is calling "Santo Chino." Those interested in donating can do so via PayPal at St. Cavish's website. All proceeds go to Hands on Shanghai's Rising Stars program:

Christopher St. Cavish, motorcycling philanthropist

How does the other half live? Shanghaiist is talking about our print media counterparts — you know, the ones that have actual deadlines and office space to fuss over. We won’t pretend to put ourselves in their shoes (well, some of us might, seeing as how we occasionally swing both ways — in the non-biblical sense, of course), but we can, at least appreciate an alliterative headline, a punchy lead, and some slick, savvy reporting. Oh, and artsy photos — we like those too. So without further ado, we bring you Shanghaiist Reads, where we tell it like they tell it — only better. And without costing you a dime. (Just kidding ... we love our local rags. And they’re free.) Think of our summary of what's in the local mags as a tribute to our print brothers and sisters who fight the good fight — and still have time to come to our website when their bosses aren’t looking.

We will not find wa … ah fuck it.

GigShanghai: Robots, poems and bagpipes

It’s been a week of uncertainties, at least as far as JZ is concerned. Was JR dropped? Is Coco back? When will we see more of Alec and The All-Stars (pictured above)? Did you all find the bank card we lost there on Wednesday? We’d love answers (especially for that last one -- ICBC wants us to go all the way out to Yangpu to get a new one).

GigShanghai: Booty, 'touching guitars' and Supergirl?!?

Not that we’ve ever taken Shanghai for being un-eclectic, but a weekend of 80s themes (anyone else find Peijin attractive in cinnamon rouge?), skateboarding in Fuxing Park and experimental electronic at Live Bar (?) on the Lord’s Day leaves us most un-loquacious.

GigShanghai: I-GO, Jewish rock and the F-word

DCist helps us make more sense of the world this week. Posts like this concert review are the reason for Scott Stapp. DCist also enumerates the reasons for playing ultimate frisbee, Condi's tight buns, their love of a local convenience store, and their jealousy of a person in Seattle calling the city.

China may have found the oft-discussed "next Yao Ming." Of course he is only 13 years old, so we'll have to wait a while to find out. But according to the Wenhui Daily, Tian Yuchen is already 205 cm tall -- that's almost 6-foot-9. When Yao Ming was 13, he was "only" 197 cm. Tian is from Changchun in Jilin province and he's already a member of the Shanghai Sharks youth team, the same place Yao got his start. The paper said Tian is considered the "secret weapon" for the Sharks' much-needed CBA turnaround (they are currently 3-5 and dead last in the CBA South Division standings). Tian is actually being trained to play as a guard and he's already signed an endorsement deal with athletic apparel brand Li Ning.

It started with the UK’s semi-successful Pop Stars, which mutated into the very successful Pop Idol, which duly crossed the Atlantic and transfixed the United States as American Idol, and now it would appear that Asia, or more importantly, China, is getting in on the act of making a television sensation out of finding a pop star. Taiwanese entertainment network ETTV is running its second series of Top Idol this summer, in which contestants battle it out for their share of a $50,000 prize fund and the opportunity to sign a contract with ETTV. Last year’s inaugural competition saw wannabes from across Asia, and indeed the US, strutting their stuff, but despite the hype, the audience at the finals in New York numbered little over 100.