The New Year


I'm not sure where this is but I am sure that I want to be there. If you could go anywhere in the world for the New Year, where would you go and why?

ps: I am going to New York City with my sister on January 1st!! Any tips on what we should do, where we should eat, or what we should see? We've never been!! We are totally thrilled!!

Color Study


delicious

Wintry



Maybe I don't know what I am talking about... That looks like it would be a pain to deal with. But man, is it pretty!

Ice Sickle


It's pretty cold these days. I move my space heater everywhere I go in my apartment, and still my feet won't get warm. I make batch after batch of hot tea and still I feel frigid! But I think that's what is so wonderful about the winter, it brings a certain crispness that has been sorely lacking all year. Though, come to think of it, I have not really experienced a true winter (besides the few I can't remember when I was in England when I was real little). I want the classic winter wonderland kind of time--complete with snow blanketed streets, hot cocoa for warmth and delight, and maybe even a sleigh ride! Is that too much to ask? Instead I get super sunny but freezing days and I can survive outside with just a sweater and go from here to there sans umbrella...

My boyfriend is currently snowboarding in Mammoth and I'm super jealous. I love the way it feels to glide over fresh powder on a slick board--it's so smooth. Plus, I heard they got 15 feet of snow! Oh man, I just love the whitewhitewhite everywhere. It's so spiritual. It's crazy to think that God created such a pure form of nature for us.

But like everything. What is pure from far away is not always so wholesome up-close. When closely inspected, our pure white snow is often tarnished with dirt, muck, and sludge.

And alas, with the cold, comes the cold. And boy, do I have it bad this year. I went to Starbucks today to grab a little jolt of coffee before heading over to work and I think I sneezed about 16 times in a row. I got snot all over my chest (charming) and people thought I was having a fit or something when I was doubled over by my car crushing my iced mocha. Hopefully this homeopathic nasal spray I got will do the trick. I will also be trying out gargling with salt water and even some collodial silver. Yes, real silver.

Merry Christmas!

My buddy Oldflames and I would like to send our warmest wishes to you and your loved ones this holiday season. Joy and peace to one and all!

If you're craving some jingle bell rock, then how about a yuletide prance with the enchanting Diana Chang.


from Oldflames

But if the holiday hustle and bustle is causing your tender nerves to fray, why not spend a silent night with gentle Grace Ting.


from Duriandave

Hong Kong Fashionistas: The Singers

I couldn't resist these two stylish young ladies, whose photos are currently going for auction on eBay right now.


The first is Lee Bo Ying (李寶瑩), a Cantonese opera singer who made some 40 films between 1954 and 1965. She was dubbed "Little Fong Yim Fun" (小芳艷芬) after renowned "Queen of Cantonese Opera" Fong Yim Fun. This YouTube clip shows Lee singing "Sorrows of the Autumn Boudoir" from her film debut, It's Fun Getting Together (1954).


And this is Fong Tsin Ying (方靜音), who also had a diminutive nickname: "Little Chang Loo" (小張露). Like Chang Loo, Fong was known for her vivacious singing and stage presence. Sadly, her life was cut short in 1959 by a deadly traffic accident. Check out her fabulous version of Georgia Gibb's 1955 hit "Kiss Me Another".

Snuggles and Smiles


Just some animals being cute.

"Orange County is the New Ventura"


Instead of studying for Psychology by reading and re-reading the words in my textbook, I've decided to study the group of middle-age men and women sitting in front of me. I can't tell if they are a religious group, excited to plan the upcoming Christmas season for their church, or if they are watching the DOW, because they have a lot of iPhones and stock-talk.

"Kill me now!" says the most abrasive of the group.

Hawaiian shirt guy keeps saying "6.30 in the morning!" "AA meetings at 6.30 in the morning!"

The older woman wearing the forest green Christmas sweater and kitschy ornament ear rings is munching on a pastry and complaining about the weather, but no one is listening to her.

Perky runner-girl talks shop with this guy who is wearing too cute of a scarf because he just "jumped into this group." A group who apparently discriminates against people from Goleta, oops I'm sorry No-Leta.

Well, the abrasive guy is louder now and is talking about bellies.

I wonder what it's like to have  Texas daughter, a South Orange County daughter and a brother Kansas.

I can't wait to see where this goes...

Christmas Conviviality


Cute holiday look: wintry whites, delicate lace, vintage-gold accessories and juicy red nails. Yumyum.

If I didn't know that it wasn't her...


I would have thought this was my sister.

Drippy Wax


Mulled wine a la Jessica, hot apple cider, ginger snaps, chocolate chip cookies, holiday popcorn, and simple, but delicious caprese bites courtesy of Sofia. The evening was toasty-warm and so full of love. Thank you friends for coming over to our house last night! We had such a special time. It was truly a pleasure to share the evening with all of you :)


Also...

After an intense week of living in the litany of complaints associated with preparing for finals, I feel the need for a total mindbodyspirit cleanse. So, this is officially happening: A complaint-free week. Just in time for Christmas...and my birthday! Who's with me?

Missing Shaw Films Found in Creative's ZiiEagle Movie Box

FOUND: Poison Rose with Julie Yeh Feng
Earlier this year I was bemoaning the fact that there were many titles from Celestial Picture's acquisition of the Shaw Brothers film library that still remained unavailable on DVD. Well, imagine my excitement when I discovered today (via the ever reliable Roast Pork Sliced from a Rusty Cleaver) that all 15 of the missing films I had mentioned — and many more — are now available in HD format, preloaded on a digital player.

Singapore multimedia company Creative has released the ZiiEagle Movie Box (天鹰宝盒), which contains a "complete" (I'll explain the quotation marks later) collection of 668 Shaw Brothers films, among which are a good many that never made it to DVD. I haven't yet done a complete count of the previously unreleased titles (although it's definitely not "around 200" as cited in this article). What I can tell you is that there are a good two dozen that I'd love to see, such as Poison Rose (1966), pictured above. Conspicuously absent from the collection, however, is Operation Lipstick (1967) and The Brain-Stealers (1968), two spy thrillers by Inoue Umetsugu starring, respectively, Cheng Pei-pei and Lily Ho. (Is that because there are plans to release those titles on DVD?)

The ZiiEagle is priced at S$1,070 (US$813) but is currently selling on promotion for S$888 (US$675). I'm not going to lie — that's a lot of dough. But considering how much I've spent on Shaw DVDs over the past eight years, I'd exchange in a flash all of my DVDs for this handsome little box. It's a moot point for me, however, since the ZiiEagle cannot be ordered outside of Singapore. Nonetheless, I'm quite excited about the arrival of this product, because it gives me hope that I may yet see these "no longer missing" (in Singapore, at least) Shaw films.

Of course, there still remain the truly missing titles: Shaw's black-and-white films (melodramas and comedies mostly) from the late 50s and early 60s and the entirety of the studio's Cantonese productions. Speaking of which, next month the Hong Kong Film Archive will be hosting a rare screening of Sweet Girl in Terror (1958), starring the "Jewel of Shaw", Patricia Lam Fung. This seminal movie is just one of the many treasures you won't find in the ZiiEagle Movie Box.

Still, if Santa could smuggle a ZiiEagle out of Singapore for me, it would make this Shaw fan *very* happy.

Anna May Wong: La Malinche


Currently up for auction on eBay is this fabulous portrait by Armando Drechsler of Anna May Wong as the controversial "Mother of Modern Mexico", La Malinche. It's not as odd as first seems. During her early career, Anna May played a variety of "exotic" ethnicities besides her own: for example, the Arab girl Zira in The 40th Door (1924) and the Inuit girl Keok in The Alaskan (1924). Such ethnic transformations were commonplace in Hollywood at the time, not to mention the institutionalized practice of yellowface.

Drechsler's choice of Anna May Wong as his model for La Malinche is especially provocative because many of the charges leveled against La Malinche — even still today — were also leveled against Anna May: harlot, race traitor, miscegenist.

But it seems plausible to me that Drechsler, who was originally from Germany and likely familiar with Anna May's European sojourns, instead regarded both women as boundary-crossing pioneers.

Whatever the inspiration, with this painting he created a stunning testament to Anna May Wong's global appeal and world-class beauty.

* For more examples of Armando Drechsler's work, see Mexican Calendar Girls by Angela Villalba.

Let's Go Lin Dai! Spring Is in the Air (1954)


There is one song inextricably associated with Lin Dai — played so often that you either weep with sympathy or grimace in pain — and that song is Carrie Ku Mei's evergreen hit "Love without End" from the 1961 movie of the same name. Carrie wasn't the only singer who provided the vocals for Lin Dai in her films. Tsin Ting famously sang for Linda in the huang mei opera films Diau Charn (1958) and The Kingdom and the Beauty (1959).

It may come as a surprise then, as it did to me a few years ago, that Lin Dai was herself a singer of great note, if not great skill, and was a popular Pathé recording artist during the 1950s. However, as my buddy Dev Yang has written on his blog The Golden Age of Chinese Language Cinema, although Linda's singing lacks skill and sophistication, there is a genuine sincerity that is quite endearing.

Linda did not sing the songs in her debut film, Singing under the Moon (1953), however, in an odd turn of events, she ended up recording them for Pathé. The albums were a bit hit. In fact, Linda's version of the song "The Hot Blazing Sun" broke record sales set by renowned professional singers such as Yao Lee and Chang Loo.

Keen to continue Linda's success as a songstress, her mentor and lover Yan Jun made sure to include songs in the subsequent films they made together. Her second movie Humiliation for Sale (released in Singapore in 1954 but not in Hong Kong until 1958) included three songs. And her third, Spring Is in the Air (1954), incorporated the plot device of students preparing for a musical. It was a device that would be recycled in her later films, such as Merry-Go-Round (1956), a color extravaganza shot in Japan that includes a whopping ten songs and fantasy musical sequences with the all-girl Shochiku Revue.

While Spring Is in the Air is apparently unavailable (not even on YouTube), we can at least still hum along with the songs from the film, such as this delightful number, "Lovely Springtime". ((LISTEN))

The innocent Lin Dai we hear in this song would eventually lose her voice during her intensive commodification at Shaw Brothers — as they strove to create the ultimate and perfect movie queen.

Call me unsophisticated, but I'll take the thin-voiced Lin Dai of Spring Is in the Air over the ventriloquized Lin Dai of Love without End any day of the week!

* A very special thanks to Gilbert Jong for providing the above image from the movie booklet for Spring Is in the Air. Check out his fabulous collection of Lin Dai photos at his Flickr stream Enjoy Yourself Tonight.

References

Let's Go Lin Dai! The Queen and Her Mambo Girl


Here's a cheeky photo of Linda and Grace Chang courtesy of Oldflames (who happens to be a big Lin Dai fan). Linda looks like she's playing big sister, but in fact she was one and a half years younger than Grace. Cheeky, indeed!

Don't forget that Lin Dai week continues at Glenn's blog A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed with his reviews of Love Without End (1961) and Madam White Snake (1962).

Let's Go Lin Dai! Singing under the Moon (1953)


Four months after her suicide on July 17, 1964, Shaw Brothers released Beyond the Great Wall, Lin Dai's final collaboration with director Li Han-hsiang. Production on the film had actually begun as early as 1960 (see the February issue of Southern Screen) and by the end of the year an advertising poster had even appeared on the back of Southern Screen (November), but because of interruptions from other Shaw productions, Beyond the Great Wall took a long time to complete and wasn't publicly shown until November 1964. By that time, Linda was dead and Li had already left Shaw to establish his own film company in Taiwan. It was eleven years earlier that the both of them had made their respective debuts as actress and director with Singing under the Moon (1953).

In 1951 Linda — just 16 years old — was discovered and offered a contract by Yuen Yang-an, co-founder of the progressive film company Great Wall. Unfortunately, she soon found herself in the midst of the political divide afflicting Hong Kong's movie industry. When it became known that Linda's father had been a big player in the recently defeated Nationalist government, she was blacklisted by Great Wall's communist faction. Although she was already estranged from her father (Linda's parents had divorced when she was a child), she was compelled to write a confession denouncing him. Even so, the studio's directors were still afraid to offer her a role in their films. When Linda subsequently refused to renew her contract, the hardliners threatened her with a large debt, citing the money already spent on her wardrobe and publicity photographs. She protested by taking an overdose of sleeping pills. Linda was discovered in time, and ironically her attempted suicide might have helped catapult her to stardom. Her name was splashed all over the papers and magazines, alerting the public and the government to the revolutionary activism breeding in Hong Kong's film studios.

As a result of this incident, nearly a dozen leftist film workers were expelled from the colony in January 1952 and Linda was released from her obligation to the studio, as was fellow Great Wall star Yan Jun, who had recently begun an affair with her.

Yan Jun was determined to make Linda a star, and when he joined the Yung Hwa film company later that year he insisted on bringing her with him. Their first collaboration — and Linda's screen debut — was Singing under the Moon (1953), an adaptation of Shen Congwen's novel Border Town, a tragic coming-of-age story about an orphaned teenage girl and her elderly grandfather. Linda stars as the main character Cui Cui and Yan Jun plays dual roles as the grandfather and the younger of two brothers who both fall in love with her.

Although Yan Jun was ostensibly the director of the film, the novice screenwriter Li Han-hsiang, who had been hired as deputy director, ended up directing the film because Yan was so busy in front of the camera. In this way, Singing under the Moon also became Li's debut. The film proved to be a huge success and launched the career of one of Hong Kong's greatest actresses as well as one of its greatest directors.

Although Singing under the Moon is cited as no longer available by the Hong Kong Film Archive in the notes for their 2009 retrospective (The Legend & The Beauty — The Films of Lin Dai), clips from the film have miraculously shown up on YouTube, affording us a rare glimpse of the humble beginnings of Hong Kong's movie queen. Linda's performance in the scene below shows that her popularity was due not only to her natural charm but also to Chinese audiences' perennial love for the sassy girl-next-door type. Hopefully we will one day be able to see the entire film in a manner befitting its landmark status.



References
  • An Age of Idealism: Great Wall & Feng Huang Days (2001) by Hong Kong Film Archive
  • The Age of Shanghainese Pops (2001) by Wong Kee Chee
  • Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: The Twentieth Century (2003) by Lily Xiao Hong Lee
  • Li Han-hsiang, Storyteller (2007) by Hong Kong Film Archive

Let's Go Lin Dai! Fisherman's Daughter on a Motorbike


Here's un petit apéritif before I publish my post about Lin Dai's first film, Singing under the Moon (1953). I found this unique magazine cover while searching through my eBay archive for Lin Dai materials. This issue appeared on newsstands shortly before Linda made her silver screen debut. Very cool, don't you think? Not quite what you'd expect, especially during the beginning of her career, a period of which she is usually remembered as a pig-tailed village lass not a short-haired urban tomboy. It just goes to show that the legend of Lin Dai that's been passed down to us is an incomplete picture, even more so when we consider that the first half of her movie output is currently unavailable on home video. It's my hope that this week's exploration of Lin Dai's early films will broaden the perception of modern fans about Hong Kong's beloved movie queen.

Meanwhile, Glenn over at A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed has just posted his review of Beyond the Great Wall (1964).

Let's Go Lin Dai!


 Lin Dai and Soo Fung showing off for International Screen (October 1956)

I can't think of a more perfect picture to announce that starting tomorrow my blog buddy Glenn (A Pessimist Is Never Disappointed) and I will be celebrating the films of Hong Kong movie queen Lin Dai.

Glenn will review Beyond the Great Wall (1960/64), Love without End (1961), Madam White Snake (1962), The Love Parade (1963), and The Last Woman of Shang (1964) — all thankfully available on DVD. As for me, I'll be blogging about some of her early films that are either lost or languishing in home video limbo.

To bring you up to speed, check out Glenn's previous Lin Dai reviews: Diau Charn (1958), which garnered Linda her second Best Actress award at the 5th Asian Film Festival; Les Belles (1961), for which she received — not without some controversy — her third Best Actress award; and The Lotus Lamp (1965), posthumously completed with a stand-in and released a year after her suicide.

Whether you adore her or consider her overrated, Lin Dai is unquestionably a great actress and one of the top icons of Chinese cinema.

Soft Film Holiday Gift Guide

Well, it's that time of the year again. Let me take a moment to offer a few special gift suggestions that can't be found at your local Walmart — or even Amazon for that matter.


This new DVD box set from Arthur Dong is a must-have for those of you interested in the rich history of Chinese American performers. The set includes a special 2-disc edition of his most recent documentary, Hollywood Chinese (2007), which won Best Documentary at the Golden Horse Awards. It also includes A Toisan Trilogy, comprising three of his early short films. Last and definitely not least is the hard-to-find Forbidden City U.S.A. (1989), an entertaining and groundbreaking work of scholarship that is a major inspiration for this blog. At $98.95, the set is not cheap, but believe me — it's worth every penny. Perhaps the most compelling reason to buy this collection is to get your hands on one of the few remaining copies of Forbidden City, which will soon be out of print and unlikely reissued because of expiring music rights. This is the last chance for individuals to acquire the DVD (which is now only available as a single disc to institutional buyers). You — or the ones who love you — can order the set here. Free holiday shipping is available until December 13th. Don't miss this window of opportunity. Regrets are no fun.


Vous ne parlez pas français? That's no excuse not to buy this book. Only 22 euros (18 if you pre-order before December 13th), the 148-page Les actrices chinoises is bursting at the binding with gorgeous portraits of Chinese film stars, from Ruan Lingyu to Gong Li. It includes rare photographs from the films of Wong Kar-wai and the personal collection of Paul Fonoroff, as well as a few choice pieces from yours truly. Click here for detailed information in English about Les actrices chinoises and how to order it. To see a slideshow of some of the images from the book, check out the original page. I can't wait for my copy!

There's nothing cooler than a cool t-shirt. Best of all is a cool Hong Kong movie t-shirt, which is exactly what you'll find at Shelf Life Clothing. Their truly unique designs are guaranteed to please even the most jaded of HK cinephiles (may I recommend the Category III shirt).

As for me, I'm partial to the Girls with Guns shirt, featuring "classic beauty" Betty Loh Tih toting a semi-automatic and the Mauser-armed heroine from The Red Detachment of Women.

Coming soon and available for pre-order is the hilarious Gambling Vampire shirt. A mash-up of God of Gamblers and Mr. Vampire, this design epitomizes what some of us love most about Hong Kong cinema. Is it too much to hope that Wong Jing will see this shirt and steal the concept for his next movie?!

Noel Toy: Our Lady of Feathers


Fandancer Toy was christened Noel because she was born on Christmas Day 21 years ago. Competitors Sally Rand and Faith Bacon are frequent visitors at Leon and Eddie's, follow Noel's graceful movements with appraising eyes.

Here's another fab spread showcasing Noel Toy and her terpsichorean art that appeared in the cheesecake tabloid CO-EDS (May 1942). The photos are accompanied by their original captions.

U. OF C.'S NOEL TOY
NOBODY'S PLAYTHING

CHINA GIRL CAN DISH IT OUT


Broadway's most publicized Chinese (American-born) glamor girl is appropriately named California Co-ed Noel Toy. Tinytot Toy (five feet tall) was a sophomore language major at University of California when she received her first assignment in the chorus of a San Francisco World's Fair midway attraction. There she was discovered, signed up at Fair's close by Frisco's famed Forbidden City hotspot.

Less than a year later, with but five month's experience as a fandancer behind her, she arrived in New York, became Leon and Eddie's headliner.

A growing reputation for biting repartee and devastating treatment of Fifty-second Street wolves earned introduction to Dramaticritic George Jean Nathan, upon whose elegant arm she often attends First Nights. Lee Mortimer, too, finds her a dynamic supper companion, and, it is rumored, she once received a proposal of marriage from Tommy Manville, who explained wistfully that he "had never been married to a Chinese girl."

It must be noted that Noel detests chop suey, is highly allergic to rice.


Start of fandancer Toy's table routine resembles Tahitian grass hut.


She slowly straightens up, pokes head out.


Above, fans cover all but head and feet.


Her fans flash into action with Sally Rand–like skill.


West Coast's Forbidden City nightclub gave Noel start. Now, after 5-month apprenticeship, she ranks with best.


Having made her bow, she continues routine on floor. Noel attended University of California. A language major, she did right well by French, Spanish, German and Latin, flunked Chinese, paradoxically. She speaks English perfectly.


Noel has keen, thoroughly American, sense of humor. Her Christmas card contained tiny V-shaped G-string.

Finally, for a taste of Noel's sharp wit and hearty laugh check out this 2001 interview, taped when she was a spry 80-something-year-old!

Anna May Wong: Style Goddess


The always fashionable Anna May Wong on the cover of Spanish movie magazine Cinegramas (March 1935). Find the real deal here.

Shanghai Fashionistas: The Thirties

I just discovered these fabulous vintage Shanghai fashion illustrations on eBay, my favorite hunting ground for ephemeral treasures. They're allegedly from a 1930 magazine. To see the illustrations on the backside of these prints or to buy them for yourself, click here and here.





And while we're on the subject of Chinese fashion, let me recommend two items I recently enjoyed: Antonia Finnane's book Changing Clothes in China: Fashion, History, Nation (2008); and Mao's New Suit (1997), Sally Ingleton's documentary about pioneering designers Sun Jian and Guo Pei.

Italy Get in By Plane Road Train Ferry

Get in

Italy is a member of the Schengen Agreement. For EU and EFTA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) citizens, an officially approved ID card (or a passport) is sufficient for entry. In no case will they need a visa for a stay of any length. Others will generally need a passport for entry.

There are no border controls between countries that have signed and implemented the treaty - the European Union (except Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom), Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. Likewise, a visa granted for any Schengen member is valid in all other countries that have signed and implemented the treaty. But be careful: Not all EU members have signed the Schengen treaty, and not all Schengen members are part of the European Union.

Airports in Europe are thus divided into "Schengen" and "non-Schengen" sections, which effectively act like "domestic" and "international" sections elsewhere. If you are flying from outside Europe into one Schengen country and continuing to another, you will clear Immigration and Customs at the first country and then continue to your destination with no further checks. Travel between a Schengen member and a non-Schengen country will result in the normal border checks. Note that regardless of whether you travelling within the Schengen area or not, some airlines will still insist on seeing your ID card or passport.

Keep in mind that the counter begins once you enter any country in the Schengen Area and is not reset by leaving a specific Schengen country for another Schengen country, or vice-versa.

As of October 2010 only the nationals of the following non-EU/EFTA countries do not need a visa for entry into the Schengen Area: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Macedonia*, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro*, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Serbia*/**, Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City, Venezuela, additionally persons holding British National (Overseas), Hong Kong SAR or Macau SAR passports. These visa-free visitors may not stay more than three months in half a year and may not work while in the EU.

Citizens of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina (with a biometric passport) are scheduled to become visa-exempt in mid-December 2010.

Note that

    * while British subjects with the right of abode in the United Kingdom and British Overseas Territories citizens connected to Gibraltar are considered "United Kingdom nationals for European Union purposes" and therefore eligible for unlimited access to the Schengen Area,
    * British Overseas Territories citizens without the right of abode in the United Kingdom and British subjects without the right of abode in the United Kingdom as well as British Overseas citizens and British protected persons in general do require visas.

However, all British Overseas Territories citizens except those solely connected to the Cyprus Sovereign Base Areas are eligible for British citizenship and thereafter unlimited access to the Schengen Area.

Further note that

(*) Macedonian, Montenegrin and Serbian nationals need a biometric passport to enjoy visa-free travel and

(**) Serbian nationals with passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate (Serbs residing in Kosovo) still do need a visa.

By plane

Italy has a national airline, Alitalia [2], as well as several smaller carriers, such as Meridiana [3] or Air One [4]. In January 2009 Air One and Alitalia merged, although for the time being at least they keep their separate identities. As a result of this merger, Germany's Lufthansa started an Italian subsidiary [5] that tries to become a main rival for Alitalia with a hub in Milan.

Italy is one of the main battle grounds for European low cost airlines several routes to/from and within Italy are offered. The larger airports are, of course, served by the major European airlines.

Intercontinental airlines mainly arrive in Milan and Rome. Although a major tourist destination, Rome is relatively poorly serviced by long-distance flights compared to London, Frankfurt, Paris, Madrid or even Milan.

Most of mid-range international flights arrive to the following Italian cities:

    * Milan - with 2 airports: Malpensa (MXP) and Linate (LIN); in addition, Bergamo (BGY - Orio al Serio) is sometimes referred to as "Milan Bergamo"

    * Rome - with two airports: Fiumicino (FCO - Leonardo Da Vinci) and Ciampino (CIA) for budget airlines

    * Bologna (BLQ – Guglielmo Marconi)

    * Naples (NAP - Capodichino)

    * Pisa (PSA - Galileo Galilei)

    * Venice (VCE – Marco Polo)

    * Turin (TRN – Sandro Pertini)

    * Catania (CTA - Vincenzo Bellini)

    * Bari (BRI - Karol Wojtyla or Palese)

    * Genoa (GOA - Cristoforo Colombo)

By train

    * From France via Nice, Lyon, and Paris
    * From Croatia via Zagreb
    * From Austria via Vienna, Innsbruck and Villach
    * From Geneva, Zurich and other Swiss cities
    * From Germany via Munich or Stuttgart
    * From Czech Republic via Prague
    * From Hungary via Budapest
    * From Serbia via Belgrade
    * From Slovenia via Ljubljana
    * From Spain via Barcelona

By car

Italy borders on France, Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia. All borders are open (without passport/customs checks), but cars can be stopped behind the border for random checks. Switzerland is now part of the Schengen zone, and ended systematic identity checks for travellers on land borders from December 2008.

By bus

With Eurolines [6]. There are regular buses between Ljubljana, Slovenian coastal towns and Istria (Croatia) and Trieste (Italy). These services are cheap and from Trieste onward connections with the rest of Italy are plentiful. There are also a bus that goes from Malmö, Sweden via Denmark, Germany and Switzerland and then goes through the country and then back to Sweden.

By boat

See also Ferries in the Mediterranean

There are several ferries departing from Greece, Albania, Montenegro and Croatia. Most of them arrive at Venice, Ancona, Bari and Brindisi.

Some regular ferry services connect the island of Corsica in France to Genoa, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples and North of Sardinia. Barcelona is connected to Civitavecchia and to Genoa.

Some regular ferry services connect Sicily and Naples to some North African harbours.

There is a hydrofoil service running from Pozzallo on the south-eastern coast of Sicily to Malta.

There is a year-round service between Trieste and Albania and summer services between Trieste and Piran (Slovenia) and Porec and Rovinj in Croatian Istria. The service between Trieste and Rovinj takes less than 2 hours which is quicker than the bus service.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Italy
http://run4can.wordpress.com/

Going Places with HK In The 60s

Soft Film fave Hong Kong In The 60s are generously serving their new EP Places — an intoxicating cocktail to whet the appetite for their upcoming debut album — on the house. That's right. You heard me. It's totally free. Download it here for a limited time only.

Inspired by such diversities as vintage sci-fi surrealist LP and paperback covers and old cassettes of 70s Taiwan pop, Hong Kong In The 60s create amazing sonic landscapes that unfold from the same well of wonder as animated films like Forbidden Planet (1973) and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984). Check out "Garma", which in less than 3 minutes takes you from funky forest terrain to abysmal inner space and back again. The band also concocts some damn fine pop, as demonstrated by the catchy yet ephemeral "Disintegration".

What are you waiting for?! All aboard for Places...

Italy Holiday Festival

Festivals in Italy - Italian Festivals and Holiday Events
Italy has interesting festivals every month of the year. Here is information about popular and unusual Italian festivals in Italy listed by month.
goitaly.about.com/... /festivalsandevents/... /italian_festivals_bymonth.htm

Italian Festivals - Italian Holidays - Italian Celebrations ...
Annotated links to Italian festival and holiday content on the Italian ...
italian.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/Festivals_Holidays.htm

http://www.pittsburghmandolinsociety.org/latestnews.html







Lin Dai: A Tale of Two Covers

There's nothing out of the ordinary about Lin Dai being featured on the cover of two different Chinese movie magazines during the same month. After all, she was the biggest star of her time. But her simultaneous appearance in December 1957 as cover girl for both Shaw and Cathay highlights the war over talent waged between the rival studios.

Lin Dai sits comfortably for the inaugural issue of Shaw's new magazine

Lin Dai became an instant star with her 1953 debut, Singing under the Moon. Her popularity continued the following year with Spring Is in the Air. Both films were hits for Yonghua Studio but couldn't save the debt-ridden company from closure in 1955. Lin Dai subsequently signed a three-year contract with Shaw and Sons for three films a year. However, the contract failed to include an exclusivity clause. This enabled her to enter a secret agreement with Cathay chief Loke Wan Tho. He also offered her three films a year but at a higher pay. When Shaw found out, they immediately matched Cathay's rate. Lin Dai suddenly became Hong Kong's highest-paid movie star.

Superstar Lin Dai strikes a pose for Cathay's International Screen

Lin Dai's consecutive Best Actress wins at the Asian Film Festival — in 1957 for Cathay's Golden Lotus and in 1958 for Shaw's Diau Charn — consolidated her position as movie queen. She continued to make films for both studios up until 1960, after which she worked exclusively for Shaw Brothers until her sudden death in 1964. For more than 10 years, Lin Dai commanded the box office and ruled the silver screen. She is justifiably remembered today as one of Chinese cinema's brightest stars.

References
Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: The Twentieth Century (2003)

i carry your heart with me--e.e. cummings

(ted witek)
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

The Sandman, The Brakeman and Me


The Brakeman is letting off some steam,
This has to be the slowest train that I have ever seen
and the Sandman's waiting to deliver me my dream,
Guess I'll lay my head against my elbow and the window

Watch the wheels go,
Watch the wheels go,

Finally. It felt like fall tonight. Did you feel it? Ah, I love that feeling of crisp air when you first step out of your warm car and it's like--yikes! get me back in there!--yeah that cool, biting air is so special to me...it's just the greatest! It brings back so many fond memories and sentiments--Christmas spices, carols, rustling leaves, Grandad Gus, scarves for days, Starbucks hot chocolate, wet asphalt, my family, driving around looking at lights, the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack, bundling up in England.Berlin.Prague.Wherever. as to not catch my death, and choosing to stay in by the fire.

After a day of coffee, wall time and friends, I took Shane to the train station, and snuggled with him on a slippery, wooden bench, whispering sweet things in his ear. Saying goodbye (or farewell) is always rough. But tonight, it was like a movie. The last call for passengers bellowed on the speakerphone and Shane hurried toward the sliding doors. A few final kisses and he was on the train. I stood, static and transfixed, watching his silhouette in the window. The train started up and he motioned that he loved me with a few simple gestures. I waved and waved, and the train moved away from me. Tears flowed, but only for a little bit. I know this is cheesy but, I love this man.


Roll on, Roll on oh little train
Brakeman blow your whistle, throw your weight upon the chain
Make way, for whatever will be, will be
Between the Sandman, the Brakeman, and me.

I Found A ((((Harp))))


I found a harp tonight. It was magical. I plucked and strummed to my heart's content. I felt like a Pre-Rapheliate Joanna Newsom--but at least I was three-dimensional.

Shanghai Girl Goes to India



I was flipping through the Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema last night and spotted something unexpected in this still from director V. Shantaram's 1939 film Manoos. The glamorous beauty in the foreground is Marathi actress Shanta Hublikar, but look closer and you'll notice a qipao-clad calendar girl behind her. Those Shanghai ladies sure got around!
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