Lam Fung: The Teen Fashion Never Ends

Here are two more of Patricia Lam's "Teen Fashion" cards that I found at a shop in Mongkok during my recent trip to Hong Kong. As always, Pat looks positively perfect!

Rebecca Pan: My Indie Music

Wow... this is like a dream come true: all of my favorite Hong Kong indie bands covering the hits of HK pop pioneer Rebecca Pan.

The just released My Dream My Way My Indie Music was produced by Rebecca herself and is something that I *highly* recommend to anyone who follows this blog. It comes packaged with an attractively designed, 88-page book that is chock-full of photos of the artists, as well as vintage pics of the lovely Ms. Pan.

Here's the track list, along with two sample songs and links to videos by the musicians featured on the album. And let me just add that even though I'm not a fan of Cantopop king Eason Chan, his cover of "Chinese Blues" totally rocks!

"Nee Nee Wo Wo" (1961) by PixelToy

"Solid Gold Rickshaw" (1967) by Ketchup

"Essence of Love" (1966) by Chet Lam

"Mágica Luna" (1961) by the pancakes


"Bengawan Solo" (1962) by at17

"I've Seen You in My Dreams" (1974) by Rebecca Pan & Chet Lam

"The Protest" (1974) by Gayamyan

"I Wonder Why" (1968) by my little airport

"J'attendrai" (1961) by Rebecca Pan

"Chinese Blues" (1962) by Eason Chan

"My Hong Kong" (1965) by Rebecca Pan & HK Indies


"Siboney Amor" (2009) by Rebecca Pan

* YOU CAN BUY THE ALBUM HERE.

Hold That Pose, Josephine!

If you think holding a smile for the camera is hard, try holding one of the poses in this lobby photo for Ma Yongzhen from Shandong (1965). Yep, that's a teenage Josephine Siao in the background, grappling with martial-arts choreographer Han Yingjie — 28 years before she played Jet Li's kung-fu fighting mom in Fong Sai Yuk!

The truth about romance...

Many people ask "what can I do to be romantic?" or "Can you give me some ideas?". This is the misconception many of us have about romance. Romance is not about masterminding some scheme to lure someone like a tiger luring his prey until he pounces on it. True romance is some gesture which sincerely comes from the heart. You do not have to be rich, a genius or the most fantastic person in bed, to be a romantic person. All you need is a sincere heart and a limitless love for your partner, and then the ideas/gestures will come naturally.

Romantic gestures or ideas do not have to be lavish or big. But as I have experienced, it's the smallest things that we do that are truly romantic. Sometimes we may do something small that doesn't seem to be much to us and we hardly notice doing it, but to our partner it would be a amazing romantic gesture. For example, leaving a simple love note for your partner in the morning. This gesture is simple and doesn't involve money or mush time, but it will mean a lot to your partner and would make their day even better than it will be, just because they will be thinking about it all day long and smiling.

And if you're not really consistent at doing such things, don't worry. Just do it every once in awhile, especially on important occasions in your relationship (anniversary, birthday or some event which involves the both of you).

Also, these gestures do not have to involve much money. The best gifts are always the ones that are born from the heart and made by yourself. No matter how horrible it may look, the effort and love put into it would mean the world to your partner, more than any gift you can buy from the store. For example, poems, video dedications, photo albums (with pictures of you and your partner), cooking meals for your partner, watching a romantic movie at home, dancing to your partner's favorite songs, singing to your partner, and etc.

My advice? Keep it simple, keep it small, because it will mean big...

Lux Soap Keeps My Blog Smooth and Soft

Have you ever wondered how I keep Soft Film so soft? Well, it's no secret. Like Gracie, I use Lux Soap. Are you tired of those unsightly blemishes caused by a bad diet of constipating film criticism? Then lighten up and use a little Lux. Remember: Soft Film is sexy!

* Thanks as always to Oldflames for keeping me well supplied with the good stuff!

Learning Mandarin with Zhou Xuan

Lyrics card for Zhou Xuan's "Song of Four Seasons"

I'm very excited to tell you about Ambuscade from Ten Sides, a new blog that's sure to become a great English-language resource for Mandarin-impaired fans of classic Chinese pop like myself. So far, blogger Remorseful Prober has been focusing mainly on the legendary "Golden Voice", Zhou Xuan. Besides providing biographical information and translated lyrics for some of her songs (such as "Shanghai Nightlife", "Picking Betel Nuts", and "Lover's Knot"), he has also generously made available for download several out-of-print collections of her songs.

To celebrate this wonderful new blog, here is Zhou Xuan singing one of her signature hits, "Song of Four Seasons" from the 1937 film Street Angel. Okay everybody, let's learn Mandarin with Zhou Xuan!

Christina Milian

Christine Flores (born September 26, 1981), better known by her stage name Christina Milian (pronounced /ˌmɪliˈɑːn/), is an American R&B and pop singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, actress, and model. Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Milian moved to Los Angeles when she was 13 years old, desiring to be an actress. By the age of 17, Milian had begun writing songs to help obtain a recording contract. Milian has released three studio albums, and has finished recording a fourth, Elope, which is scheduled for a late 2009 or early 2010 release.

Milian's self-titled debut album was released in 2001, and features the singles "AM to PM" and "When You Look at Me"; both peaked in the top three on the UK Singles Chart. The singer's second studio album, It's About Time (2004), provided her first major US hit "Dip It Low". Milian's third studio album, So Amazin' (2006), produced only one single, "Say I". A month after the release of So Amazin', Milian's representative confirmed that she had left the Island Def Jam record label due to "creative differences". Milian signed with Interscope Records in 2009, through which she will release her album, Elope. The album's first single, "Us Against the World", was written by Milian.



Although Milian is best known for her singing career, she originally wanted to be an actress. Her first lead role was in the 2003 film Love Don't Cost a Thing, and subsequently had main roles in Be Cool and the horror film Pulse. Milian had a minor role in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, and starred as the lead role in the straight-to-DVD film Bring It On: Fight to the Finish. Milian has been described as a role model, and her mother manages her musical and theatrical careers. On September 4, 2009, Milian married The-Dream in Las Vegas, and was confirmed to be pregnant with his child a week later.

All the Rage: Carrie Koo Mei

Here's a little something to follow up on my recent post about Carrie Koo's career as a painter. This lovely centerfold appeared in Southern Screen No. 81 (November 1964), accompanied by the English text below. Carrie looks exceptionally classy, don't you think?

That Singing Rage: Carrie Ku Mei

Countless moviegoers and song lovers have been thrilled by her sweet voice over the airwaves, on records and in movies.

She is none other than Ku Chia-mi, the Soochow beauty better known by her professional name of Carrie Ku Mei. Her fans will be delighted to learn that this lovely singer has been assigned by Shaw Studio to play the female lead in the forthcoming Eastmancolour / Shawscope musical "The Lark".

Carrie had her first taste of fame in 1955 when she appeared in the Shaw picture "Love and Duty" with Chang Yang and Shih Ying. In it she sang the theme song "Where is Mother?" which made her famous overnight. Other outstanding numbers which Carrie Ku Mei has recorded include "The Lass from Mount Ali" and "Love Without End", two haunting melodies frequently heard throughout Southeast Asia.

Carrie Ku Mei has appeared in such Shaw productions as "Red Chamber Dream", "Comedy of Mismatches" and "Blue and Black". She went to Bangkok to promote her picture "The Fair Sex" and stayed in the Thai capital for four years, returning to Hong Kong in 1961.

This charming songstress has spent most of the last 15 years in southern China, so it's not surprising her Cantonese is as fluent as her Mandarin.

Mai Ling: Tomboy in Pink

I love the reserved, slightly defiant look of Mai Ling on this cover of Screenland. The pink dress and pink plastic flowers can't cover up the motorcycle-riding tomboy. There's a hint of unwillingness on Ah Ling's part to play the expected role of eager young starlet, whether innocent or sexy. Maybe that's why she remained a second string player for most of her career.

It takes more than just beauty and talent to become a superstar. Besides simple luck, it helps to have connections and the shrewdness to use them. Take for example "Little Darling" Kitty Ting Hao, whose relationship with MP&GI general manager Robert Chung enabled her to climb the studio ladder. Knowing that, it's a little hard to stomach her innocent country girl act in the following clip from Beauty Parade (1961). Call me biased, but I'd much rather see more of Mai Ling, one of the "mean girls" in the film.



* Thanks to Oldflames for the cover!

Wilson Shieh: Maggie Cheung's Fitting Room

Here's another cool thing that I missed during my recent trip to Hong Kong: these wonderful drawings by Wilson Shieh, one of my favorite contemporary artists, which may have been shown at Osage Gallery in an exhibition of his latest work that ended just three days before my arrival.

I can't remember how I discovered Wilson Shieh, but ever since, I've been a big fan of his witty and whimsical work. Earlier this year in March he had an exhibit at Osage entitled Chow Yun Fat's Fitting Room, which playfully deconstructed the actor's star image.

In the two pieces above, he's applied the same sort of treatment to Maggie Cheung. What I like about Wilson Shieh's art is that it can hold as much or as little meaning as you want. You can ponder the calculated manufacturing of the star system or take simple delight in the paper doll-inspired depictions. The irony of Wilson's work is always gentle, tempered by a genuine affection for his subjects.

Further Viewing

• Assorted Works (2008-2009, Osage Gallery)


• Assorted Works (2009, Singapore Tyler Print Insitute)


• Ladyland (2007, Grotto Fine Art)


• Assorted Works (2005, Crown Point Press)


• Nanyang, Ocean of the South (2005, Grotto Fine Art)


• An Alternative Antiquity (2002, Grotto Fine Art)


• Assorted Works (1996-2004, Hong Kong Art Archive)

Julie Wu: Postcard Perfect

Wow... take a look at Julie Wu Ching-hung, the grand dame of Taiwan Mandarin cinema. Here she is posing in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in September 1959, when she represented Taiwan for the second year in a row at the San Francisco Pacific Festival.

A great big thanks to Oldflames for the lovely photo! Stay tuned for more about Julie and the Pacific Festival...

Soft Film Video Jukebox: Mavis Fan & 100%

Whenever I go to Hong Kong, I always miss something cool that's happening either the week before or after my visit. This trip was no exception. Just days before my arrival there was a two-day music festival featuring two of my favorite Taiwanese singers, Mavis Fan and Cheer Chen. Damn! :'(

Oh well... at least I was able to console myself with Mavis's new CD, Innocent, her first full-length album in nearly five years. As always, Mavis has a cool new look and sound. Here's "Zhu Ren" ("Master"), one of my favorite songs off the album.

Microsoft... Satan's Right Hand

My job requires me to deal a lot with Microsoft personnel, because my company is pro-Microsoft for obvious reasons (they think Microsoft is the best). Well, I’m not here to praise Microsoft, but to tell you how much I hate them…

Firstly, when you report a problem to them, they escalate your problem all the way to their base in Shanghai, China. I’ve got nothing against the Chinese, but talking to the Microsoft guys in Shanghai is ridiculous, because half the time you can’t understand them. I’m a Malaysian for heaven’s sake, I speak and understand “rojak” English and I still can’t understand them. I wonder how they speak to the white guys…

Next, if they can’t solve your problem (which is the case most of the time), they’ll just give you their standard answer “This issue is as per design”. How can a problem be caused by how Windows was designed??? You built it! So you should know how to solve/fix it! Would you buy a car and expect the dealer to say “As per design” when you report a problem to them? “What? Your engine cannot start? As per design, sir. Please buy a new car or live with it!”. Ridiculous ain’t it?

Next, the motto is probably: “If anything goes wrong in Windows, always blame the customer first!”. I’ve always got this answer from them: “It is something in your company’s environment”. Maybe it is but isn’t that a bit too blunt? Couldn’t they at least try to find out what is wrong in the client’s environment first before saying that? There was once when Microsoft techs couldn’t figure out what was wrong with some problem which causes MS Word to crash in my company, they collected logs for weeks and couldn’t tell what was wrong. They came to the point of saying “Could you please ship over your laptop to us in Shanghai?”. OMG! Why would I ship my laptop half way around the world when they have a Microsoft base here in Malaysia? The local Microsoft guy said “We’re not as technical as the Shanghai guys, so we can’t troubleshoot this problem”. I was shocked, why do they call themselves Microsoft personnel (working in the Support Team) if they can’t even do simple troubleshooting. You know what I did? I got fed up and did my own troubleshooting. I found a possible cause and a resolution for the issue within 30 minutes. Shanghai Microsoft techs have been working on this for 3 weeks and they couldn’t find a bloody solution. 30 minutes and 3 weeks, you do the math. And yeah, in the end, it was caused by a corruption in one of the Ms Office registry keys… yes, yes, blame the client…

I hate Microsoft so much…

Since everyone has been bugging me for an update...

I actually had to apologize to many people for not updating my blog for such a long time... but wait a minute, its MY BLOG! Lol! Just kidding. I've had my hands full with... life.

So, what's new... hurmmm... nothing much, I guess just a new special someone in my life. Who say who but she's the "Grey-eyed angel". Most people wish that their best friends would get along well with the gurl they love, but in my case I'm fortunate enough to fall in love with my best friend. You might argue that maybe this best friend thing is one sided but its not, its mutual.

Hurmmm... what can I tell you about her... well, when I first met her, I was attracted to her eyes, although she looks stunningly beautiful. Something about her eyes drew me to her. That's why I wrote my Poem No.12 (Click here to read it), which was dedicated to her. Of course, at that time, it wasn't anything serious. I was attracted to her, but not in love. But we grew in our friendship. Became best friends to each other and then love just fell into place.

Things I love about her:

10. She always says "I love you" before we depart rather than "good-bye". She says it's because she feels that I'm always in her heart and mind, so there's no need for a good-bye. She nerver fails to remind that I'm always being missed by her even after we had just got home after our date.

9. She's always thinking about others before herself no matter how much trouble or pain she has to go through. She goes through great lengths to comfort, console and please me.

8. She's always herself, does not pretend to be someone else and always truthful. She's unique and nobody can take her place in my heart, because she means so much to me. My best friend and the woman I love.

7. Not only does she walk behind me to catch me when I fall, but most importantly she walks beside me to make sure I don't fall. She's always been there for me, through happiness and sadness.

6. I learn a lot from her. Not many guys would like to say this but I'm proud to say that she's my idol (in terms of how a human being should be) and I want to be like her in many ways (character, career, potential, mind set and etc.). I really look up to her.

5. She's determined. She always sets a goal in life and does everything she can to achieve it. She never gives up. That's why she's so successful today. I really respect that and I hope I can be like that someday.

4. Her sweetness and bubbliness. She's sweet and bubbly in so many ways. Sometimes I just love watching her be herself. She's fun to be with and she also makes sure you have fun when you're with her. She's never dull and always full of suprises. Sometimes she could be just the opposite and be quiet and shy, but I love that too. Especially when she catches me staring at her from across the table, she would turn her face away, when I ask her why she turned away she would say that she's shy it was ME that was looking at her.

3. Her charming ways. She always knows the right words to say at the right time. She's the reason I get up everyday with a smile on my face. She knows what to say to make my day a great one everyday and she never fails to do so. I've never had a gloomy day since the day she walked into my heart.

2. She's so beautiful and intelligent but she never ever let these gifts go to her head. In fact, she's the most humble person I know. She always strives to be better and to improve her flaws, although I always tell her that I don't want her to change because I want to spend the rest of my life loving the gurl I first fell in love with.

1. Most of all, I love the way she loves me. So true, so pure, so passionate. Sometimes I find myself asking "is this how love feels?" because its better than I had ever experienced and could ever imagine. I couldn't ask for a better person to fall in love with because there is none besides her.

"I love you not only because of who you are. but most of all because of who I am when I am with you"

Koo Mei: More than a Lark

Nicknamed "Little Lark", Carrie Koo Mei is one of the great Chinese songstresses of the 1950s and 60s — and is still fondly remembered today for singing the title song of that classic tearjerker Love Without End (1961) — but did you know that she is also a remarkable painter?

When I was in Hong Kong I had the rare opportunity to see an exhibition of her amazing work at the University Museum and Art Gallery. Believe it or not, Carrie has been painting since 1963, back when she was still singing and acting at Shaw Brothers. Her teachers included Chao Shao-an, master of the Lingnan School of Painting; Hu Nien-tsu; and Lui Shou-kwan, founder of the Zen-inspired New Ink Movement.

After learning from some of the best Chinese ink painters of the 20th century, Koo Mei charted her own course and developed a unique style that combines the realism of the Lingnan School with the free form of the New Ink Movement. The title of the exhibition, "The Cloud and Mist Weaver", perfectly describes the effortless and ephemeral beauty of Koo Mei's paintings. As Yeung Chun-tong, the director of the University Museum and Art Gallery, writes in his introduction to the exhibit:

Landscape painting offers a medium for Koo Mei to seek her personal ideal. All her compositions, be they depictions of actual mountains and rivers or of imagined scenery, reflect the beauty of nature as she sees it in her heart. Without deliberately painting abstract pictures, nor transforming majestic mountains and flowing streams into mere brush strokes and symbols, she simply expresses her emotions in the free-form clouds, haze, mist and fog, transporting her audience to the highest heaven, unrestricted by form, shape and colour.

Indeed, as I looked at the landscapes delicately woven by Koo Mei, I was transported from the hustle and bustle of one of the world's densest cities to a place of blissful solitude.

Here are two paintings from the show that I scanned from the exhibition brochure.


A Morning Rehearsal by Koo Mei


Cool Lighting by Koo Mei

If you'd like to see more of Koo Mei's paintings, you can visit her online gallery at the Hong Kong Art Archive.

P.S.: Did you notice Carrie's Spiderman shirt in the photo above?!

eBay Bargain of the Week: Shagadelic Lily

I figured one of you might be interested in getting this very cool, vintage Lily Ho photo that is selling on eBay for only 6 bucks (plus shipping). Act now, Lily fans!

The Blog Formerly Known as HKMDB Daily News

I just want to make sure you all know about the recent transformation of HKMDB Daily News into Roast Pork Sliced From A Rusty Cleaver. Now it's easier than ever to keep abreast of the latest Chinese movie news and gossip. Go on... take a bite. You know you want some!

Shopping for Vintage Hong Kong Pop

Hong Kong is without a doubt a "Shoppers' Paradise". Even someone like me, an obscurely specialized bottom feeder in the chain of consumers, can satisfy their materialist cravings. Check out these cool CD reissues of three classic LPs from Hong Kong's Diamond Records label. Established in 1960, Diamond was known for producing albums that mixed Mandarin versions of English songs, English versions of Mandarin songs, and ‘bilingual’ songs featuring both English and Mandarin lyrics. Like hot coke with ginger, the Diamond sound is a reflection of the unique East-West mix that makes Hong Kong such a fascinating place.

For more information about the pop music scene of Hong Kong during the 1960s, I encourage you to peruse the following fantastic websites: QUESTING Bandstand and Hong Kong Pop: English Style. And click on the links below for more information about the singers or to buy the CDs, which are a steal at $7.99!




"Take Good Care of Him" by Kong Ling and The Fabulous Echoes
Buy the CD




"Tower of Gold" by Rebecca Pan
Buy the CD

Wong Kar-wai fans will recognize Rebecca Pan from her roles in Days of Being Wild and In the Mood for Love.




"Green Island Serenade" by Carrie Koo
Buy the CD

Click here for lyrics and the controversy behind the authorship and meaning of this song.

Looking for Joy in Macau

Macau — the Las Vegas of the Far East

I must confess that after visiting Macau for the first time four years ago, I didn't plan on every returning. I don't gamble. I'm not much for glamor and glitz. And I'm often unimpressed by the obligatory tourist attractions. So when Glenn told me that he wanted to go to Macau, I wasn't really jumping at the bit. But I thought I'd give it another chance and try to make my way off the beaten track this time around.

We started our day — like all good tourists — at the Largo do Senado, the UNESCO-designated "Historic Centre of Macau" that features such traditional shops as Bath and Body Works, Bosinni, MANGO, McDonalds, and Starbucks. Feeling a little peckish, we ventured into a nearby cha chan teng for a bite to eat. It wasn't as cool as Hong Kong's Mido Cafe, but it fed my fried-egg sandwich fix. I also ordered hot Coke with ginger, something I've been wanting to try for a long time. Unfortunately, because of a communication snafu I ended up with the cold — and consequently less gingery — version, but I'll get it right the next time!

Refreshed, Glenn and I set out under the blazing sun in search of some antique shops that I'd read about. After wandering around a bit, we found a tantalizing (but closed) shop that beckoned with promises of rare movie treasures.


I never found out what riches lay waiting in this antique shop near the Ruins of St. Paul's

We then made our way back towards the Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral, which still managed to impress me in spite of the crowds and the heat. The ruins are emblematic of the old world atmosphere that makes Macau such a picturesque place for both visitors and filmmakers.


The Ruins of St. Paul's in the Shaw Brothers film I, Murderer (1961)


After watching Isabella (2006), you'll definitely want to visit Macau

After ascending the steps of St. Paul's, we journeyed into the less touristy part of town, looking for the "El Dorado" of our visit: the Cinema Alegria, known in Chinese as the Wing Lok Cinema. Built in 1952, it is allegedly Macau's oldest surviving movie theater.


The Art Deco–influenced front of the Cinema Alegria

According to the Macau Government Tourist office, the Cinema Alegria "existed on a staple of classic patriotic films in the early days", which I take to mean leftist films. Check out this tantalizing snippet of history I found via Google Books.

On March 1 [1955?] a party of Portuguese policemen and troops surrounded Wing Lok Theater, which was showing a Chinese film, "United for Tomorrow", and forcibly stopped the showing of the film. The Portuguese policemen and troops brutally beat up employees of the theater and some of the audience. Three persons were arrested.

Wow... things sure have changed since then. Nowadays, in this post-colonial, post-communist era, the Cinema Alegria screens movies like Kungfu Cyborg: Metallic Attraction and On His Majesty's Secret Service.


Art for the Masses: On His Majesty's Secret Service (2009)

The theater was renovated a few years ago. And while I could bemoan the fact that the original balcony was converted into a second screening room, I must admit that the new sound system rocks and the venue still retains its old-school charm — not to mention these cool hand-marked tickets!



Old-school tickets with row and seat hand-marked

Spending four hours inside the Cinema Alegria was a memorable experience for a movie fan like myself and definitely one of the highlights of my trip. As I sat in my seat waiting for the films to start, I daydreamed about the flickering ghosts of moving pictures long vanished and felt grateful that places like this still exist.

Back from Hong Kong

In spite of record heat and coming down with a cold, I had a fantastic time in Hong Kong: good company, good food, good movies, good shopping. On the down side, my camera stopped working three days into my trip, but I managed to take a few photos before then. (If you're interested, I also have three sets from my 2008 visit.)

Stay tuned in the coming week for some movie-related posts about my recent trip!