pressure*

Jooksings is my passion as is pressure* is to Barron Lau. I gotta give some mad respect to Barron Lau, the Creative Director at pressure*.

“Pressure represents not only an evolution our business but a reaction to the revolution in the way consumers now intake media. Our clients will now have the opportunity to utilize surging technologies, solid business experience and award winning creative to reach their consumers with more impact than they ever could have imagined.”

Barron is a pure Jooksing. On a scale of 1 to 10...he's probably a 3. okok...a 4. he can order dimsum on his own. Barron has been busy for the past few years trying to achieve his dream of building a successful marketing agency. I've known Barron for about 5 years but have worked closely with him for the past 2. His company has tripled in size, built large scale events such as Grand Tuner World Championship in 2005, GPT Auto expo and DJ stylus awards in 2006 and other projects yet to be seen. When he's not seen wrapping his remote controls, he's busy at work....the heart of a successful Jooksing businessman. I've always mentioned that in order for jooksings to have a voice in the marketing world, we have to support Jooksings stronger.

Barron's latest project is pressure* which reinvents the marketing agency into a young, new age, guerilla style, progressive thinking, web 2.0 type of agency. Check out the video for the launch. Creative Jooksing minds at work. Oh...and 2 Greek Guys who think they are Zeus and Poseidon.

Oh...and check out the camera work...that cameraman is really good. In order to shoot video like that he must be pretty smart and probably a good lookin kind of guy.

Movie Review: Catch and Release

I wanted to watch something else but my girlfriend dragged me into watching this boring movie with Jennifer Garner and Timothy Olyphant. First of all, Timothy Olyphant looks so weird in this "loving" role. He was cast perfectly in Girl Next Door. This movie..not so sure.

Anyway...the movie plots Gray (Jennifer Garner) as a would be wife of her now dead fiance, Grady who dies in an accident. They were about to get married but she ends up catering to mourners instead of wedding guests. Grady's brother, Fritz (played by Timothy Olypant) is introduced into the movie screwing one of the caterers in the bathroom as Gray is mourning in the bathroom.

Grady's best friend and business partner (played by Kevin Smith and Sam Jaeger) help Gray out during her tough times but end up with these weird troubled relationship problems of their own. Kevin Smith is awesome though. If you don't know who Kevin Smith is...he's Silent Bob from Jay and Silent Bob. I loved his charachter in the movie and hope he does more films that involve more speaking.

Gray finds out during her mourning period that Grady had a skeleton in his closet and found out that he was not only a millionaire but also had a child with another woman. He had been transferring money to the other woman, Maureen(Juliette Lewis), who strolls into town with her son to look for her Grady and is unaware of the fact that Grady has passed away.

From that point on...I'm not sure what the Screenwriter/Director's focus was on. The movie is pretty confusing and it seems that there are some things that happen off screen that you'll have to figure out on your own. For whatever reason, Gray and Fritz fall in love and the tragedy just goes away. I don't really know how to explain this. Watch it yourself. All i'm saying is that I wouldn't catch or release this movie. I'll let it swim on by...Why waste your bait?

Rating: 3.5/10 but Kevin Smith is awesome.

Nintendo DS Subway AD in japan

Although to china mainlanders (the extreme fobs is what i call them) remember the japanese for rape and pillaging the country, Jooksings like me see the japanese as some smart mother fuckers who make cool shit. I'm a big Nintendo fan as you can tell. Check out this subway advertisment that Nintendo put out for the DS. It looks like you can control the people through the window with the stylus. Pretty cool if you ask me.

Chris

a chance to finally use my natural born sword fighting skills

If you are like me...asian and born with natural kung fu ability...you are going to love the nintendo wii even more this year when Sega brings Bleach over here for the americas. If you didn't know Bleach is a japanese anime. I'm not an anime nerd so i couldn't tell you the story. All i know is that the cartoon looks pretty sick and i get to hold the wii remote like a sword and beat the crap out of sheldon (my friend) after a long meeting. I mean..what better way to relieve stress. Check out the video here!

Jooksings control the destiny of friendster and facebook?

I don't know about the rest of you out there..but I haven't logged into friendster for over a month. and i've always noticed that although networking websites out there spread like wildfire...it really doesn't take off until fellow asians start using it. Maybe it's our infectious infatuation with pictures....i dunno. It's totally true...i mean..seriously friendster and myspace are still around and it's not going anywhere soon but it's long overdue that another web 2.0 app should take over the reigns and i think facebook will do just that.

Snicker if you've ever had a page on asianavenue.com!! Have you visited that site lately? It's so weird. On it's site...it says "1,438,461 Members have joined AsianAvenue" It also says how many members online. Guess how many were online? 40. that's it. 40. why? cuz asians bailed on AA because of weird javascripts and stupid point systems for cheesy hats and tshirts.

A week ago...i signed up for facebook and naturally created the Jooksings Group. well....it's grown significantly since and I'm hoping to hit at least 1000 members across the US and Canada. If you are reading this...go ahead..sign up on facebook and make sure to join the jooksings group.

Nike and Transformers combine

Thanks to Arcane for the tip! Takara and Nike formed to make Convoy & Megatron Nike Free 7.0. We've seen the japanese commercial in Japan where they have the transforming shoe. You can see it here in my previous post. I grew up with Transformers and I can't tell you how much love i have for them. Grimlock was my prized possession back in the day. You guys know how much i love sneakers. Well...check this out! If you are like me...you'll love this. TOO BAD we can't put them on our feet though. It's only done to half scale but it's done nicely. They even have shoelaces! They need to make a starscream or soundwave one. I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Preorder them here.

Google is the real winner

A few short months ago, the #1 Search giant, Google had acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion. Many industry critics believed that the real winners were the founders of YouTube, Chad Hurley and Jooksing, Steve Chen. The two were able to get Google to spend that amount of money for a company that was just waiting for lawsuits to happen due to the number of copyrighted content that is posted by users of YouTube. One of the most famous vocal critics of this deal was Mark Cuban. See his original post here .

Currently, Google is best known as the engine for advertisers to place their sponsored-search advertisements. As mentioned on Bambi Francisco’s blog Google is planning to change this. Over the course of a few months, Google will be testing video in combination with professionally produced content by Sony Music and Warner Music and advertising. The two music companies will produce their own channels where by Ad Sense customers can embed those channels onto their websites.

With Google expected to earn $4 billion dollars in ad revenue in 2006, these new developments of offering Ad Sense customers to embed these new advertising channels onto their websites, the growing popularity of online video, combined with Google’s relevancy based search results, I think Google got a great deal for YouTube. We may see Googles shares hit the target price of $600/share throughout 2007.

The Notorious...MSG kickin it

"I can't even eat the Har Gau without even thinking about you..You are my one and only Dim Sum Girl"

That's actually a lyric from one of the freshest beats to the music scene in a while. While smoking egg rolls for fun, The Notorious MSG has turned into a funky hip hop beat mixed with humour that you can't forget. All the lyrics are sure to make your day. It's absolutely hilarious. Besides being funny though the flavour they produce is actually not bad. And I'd definitely suggest you give them support by heading to iTunes to buy their album. That's the only way..the jooksing community is gonna grow. Buy their album at this link: Buy The Notorious MSG

Here's a video clip of Straight outta Canton:

Karaoke...the same songs over and over

One thing i've noticed when i go Karaoke is that I find myself singing the same songs over and over. Maybe it's because I'm stuck in the 90's but that's when karaoke was still done in lounges and wasn't always done in seperate rooms like it is now. I actually don't remember the last time a K had a lounge area. Maybe Beer Boy...before it turned into Kbox in Richmond Hill.
Anyway...the songs i seem to sing over and over again are:
Andy Hui - Lam Yun Jui Toong (Men Hurt the most?)
Beyond - Hoi Fuut teen hoong (Big Bay of water and Large sky? haha) (what a classic man)
Edmond Leung - Yeet Ching Beet Lune (Hot Love no sex)
Lai Ming - Na yow yut teen but seung lay. (there was a day that i didn't think of you)
Jacky Cheung - Mui teen ngoi lay dor yut seh. (everyday i love you a little bit more)
Jacky Cheung - gee seung yut sung gun lay jow. (all i want is to run away with you)

Hahaha...these translations are killing me.

I did have a song that i absolutely hate though. It's that damn duet song with Jacky Cheung and Regina Velasquez. That song has the crappiest lyrics in all of karaoke and was made especially for FOBS that can't speak english properly. What better song for Jacky. Seriously...my grade 2 cousins can write better lyrics.

There's all those backstreet boys songs too and let's not forget "more than words" by extreme.

You see my point. Jooksings seem to sing the same damn songs every single time. I think it's funny. Leave a comment and let me know of other songs that you find yourself singing over and over.

Chris

Christine @ Happy Slip Productions

Since my blog is dedicated to showcasing Jooksings and/or all asians in general, i have to give a mad big up to Christine. (i don't even know if she is asian...I'm guessing filipino but it's totally irrelevant. She made me laugh today so i thought i'd give her a prop.) Christine runs a website called HappySlip.com and everything is done on her own. You'll find that Christine will always make you laugh and you'll get to know her from her hilarious videoblogs that garner over 175,000 on youtube. I enjoyed watching her and i hope you all do too.

Christine manages to show how silly she can be by making this video of how much she loves the 24" apple cinema lcd display while singing her own version of James Blunt's "You're Beautiful"

That's awesome Christine. Good job. Check her out!

Movie Review: Curse of the Golden Flower

I just came back from watching Curse of the Golden Flower today. If you are the type that's looking for a good kung fu fight then you are looking in the wrong place. However, there are a couple of scenes that involve an intense amount of blood. Directed by Zhang Yimou, who has also directed other epic asian films such as House of the Flying Daggers and Hero, the film is set in 10th century Tang Dynasty and you'll be happy to know that the visuals in the movie are absolutely breathtaking. Glorious gold and red colours are so powerful you'd believe that the chinese actually took great care in their detail rather than the "cheap quality" stereotype that is present today. Everything is meticulously done from the millions of flowers and the amazing costumes to the curtains and uniforms of every charachter on the screen. The visuals will blow your mind.

The film is in Mandarin with English subs that are pretty close to what they are actually saying. I had to laugh a couple times but overall it was done quite nicely. I really like Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li's performances. Chow Yun Fat was awesome in this movie and I can finally erase the horrific upchuck reflex memories when i saw Replacement Killers. ( I still think he should make another God of Gamblers movie! ) Gong Li seems to never age as she is as beautiful as ever and her acting is just classic. The only thing i gripe about is that she always seems to play these movies where she is in extreme pain or extreme crying.

China's Royal family is in absolute turmoil. The Emporer (chow yun fat) slowly poisons his Empress (Gong Li) with some kind of leung cha (that gross tasting black stuff your parents made you drink) formulated with a poisonous herb. The Empress is also having an intimate affair with the Prince (Lie Ye) that also has a romantic relationship with the Royal Doctor's Daughter (Li man). The 2nd eldest son, Prince Jai ( Jay Chou ) comes back from fighting the mongols and the youngest son is jealous over the attention that his brothers get from the Emporer and Empress. All the elements of creating a tragic love/family/power struggle story. The story isn't a factual one either btw. It's actually a play set in the 1930's called Thunderstorm by famed novelist Yu Cao but Zhang has set the tone in a Tang Dynasty setting.

It's a great story that resembles extreme drama from Shakespeare but does get lost at certain times. You may need to watch it twice especially if you are a slow reader and can't understand the chinese. However, your eyes will never leave the screen as you'll want to catch all the beautiful colours. I do recommend the film but I'd definitely suggest a second viewing.

What is a movie review by me without some Jooksing Humour? Mad props to the Costume designer who designed the uniforms as the term "asian chicks have small breasts" is practically thrown out the window. My girlfriend beside kept saying..."holy! she has big boobs." and "every girl in this movie has big boobs!" It's actually really noticeable. So guys...take your woman out for a date to this movie. She'll think you are a cultured kind of guy...and you can stare all you want for 120 minutes.

Chris

Rating: 3/5

Fashion Collaboration

C for collaborations seems to be all the rage these days. It makes so much sense, I mean when 2 mega brands join together to make the best out of what their loyal customer followings bring.

We have seen Alexander McQueen team up with Puma. Christy Turlington teamed up with Puma too and designed a shoe line labeled Nuala. Girly yet chic and stylish we saw them in pinks and a neutral palette. I also remember the summer when super model Heidi Klum designed Birkenstocks encrusted with swarovski crystals. Stella McCartney, Viktor & Rolf, Karl Lagerfeld & Madonna have all teamed up with H&M to create fashions for the masses at unbeatable prices. I remember this one weekend when I drove down to Target to try to get some of the Luella Bartley collection that was designed especially for Target. I made it there to Buffalo one week after it hit the stores but they were out of my size. Architect Frank Gehry has also designed a fabulous streamlined jewelry collection for Tiffany.

Last year we’ve seen the Motorola Razr in limited edition Gold color that was a collaboration phone with Dolce and Gabanna. Well Prada has joined up with LG creating this slim, touch screen cell phone. Called the LG KE850, this is a phone which is similar to the new Apple iPhone. Its way minimal as it has no keys and is operated by touch. The down side is that compared to the new apple phone iPhone; you can’t put mp3’s or any photo storage. The cost is higher at $ 800. But for all those Prada lovers out there…..I guess it’s a different story. Hits European markets next month.

Stefani

Yunnie continues her Gears of War Promo

My post on Jan. 6 detailed a promo on gears of war campaign done by vlogger yunnie. Gears of war does launch tomorrow morning on Jan. 18th in Japan. I'm really interested to see the sales results of the game in Japan. If you didn't know..the sales of the xbox 360 in japan is seriously sucking ass. I don't think they even have a base of 100,000 units in all of japan.
Yunnie is a super cute japanese girl that I'd hook up with in a heartbeat. that is...if she's of age...and if i was single...i'm on a tangent.
Anyway...Episode 13 shows Yunnie getting a massage from the monster underneath the bed. As if it wasn't proof enough that the japanese have weird fuckin minds...they go and pull this off. As a whole though...it's still well thought out.

In Episode 14, Yunnie is changing into her pajamas and the monster steals her clothes. She kicks the monster and takes her shirt back. I have no idea what she's saying...but maybe it's "hey...you perv. stop stealing my shirt. It costs 500 Yen from walmart"

Episode 15th just proves my theories all correct as she's spotted here actually holding an xbox 360 controller playing gears of war with the monster underneath the bed. It was posted the 15th and again..with gears of war launching on the 18th in japan. you can only wonder if she's going to continue after the launch.


btw...this seems to be her in this photoshoot doesn't it? Her name is Kaori Furuya. I can't really tell...they all look the same after awhile...and voice recognition isn't going to help either...Why do all girls from japan have that squeaky voice?

Halls Commercial

Check out this halls commercial. I thought it was pretty humorous. I think it's smart that they didn't use some asian dude to do the coughing bit. Some people might conjure up the memories of the SARS epidemic a while ago. In anycase, i still thought they should have used the katana blades on the wall...i don't see why he used the butcher knife to cut the halls...how unsanitary.

24 season 6 - a slight dissapointment for me

Okay..before all you 24 fans start to freak out over the title of this blog, hear me out. I don't know about you...but when i saw the final episode last year and how Jack Bauer was captured by the chinese and he was shipped off to China on a boat that resembles the ones you see every so often on the shores of vancouver or new york. When i saw that last episode, I had a whole year to dream about what was going to happen and how he was gonna survive in china and/or how he was gonna work alongside some china dude in some kinda spy getaway involving the US embassy. I'm sure that all you Jooksings out there thought the same as me? How is Jack gonna get out of China? what will he survive on? will he eat dog to survive? will he go to the nearest mcdonalds? anything!!!

Well...to my amazement/dissapointment, Jack comes into season 6 with weak entrance and i really had my hopes up to see some asians finally getting some spotlight. You'd think that with crazy man in Korea, Kim Jong Il, that maybe the east would get some exposure...even if it's in that light. I love 24 and Jack Bauer is my hero but i hate how the writers planned this out. Maybe it wasn't their fault. Maybe they are finding out that it's much harder to find asians that can act in California. WTF?! how can that be possible? Sanfrancisco is full of them. I have no idea. All i'm saying is I wished so badly for asians to get a spotlight for the whole year and frankly..i'm getting tired of the same ol' villains.

Chris Tsang
Dissapointed but still loyal 24 fan.

Photo via [tzima.com] but edited by me.

Lo Fu Gee part 2

Hey guys. A couple weeks ago i gave you a taste of Lo Fu Gee also known as old master Q. I hope that made you laugh. This episode will make you laugh for sure. This episode is around 10 minutes and will see how clumsy and silly Lo Fu Gee is. You'll also meet Mr. Chu, his boss and friend. My absolute favorite part in this episode is when they take off the shirts to show off their tats! I'm an atomic bomb!! Watch it and you'll know what means"

Scene 1: Lo Fu Gee and his alarm clock
Scene 2: Let's get ready for work!!
Scene 3: Getting to work is difficult!
Scene 4: Sorry Mr. Chu. I will wax the floors!
Scene 5: Dai Lo and his lengs.
Scene 6: the fight!

Mazda rolls out the Ryuga concept

Mazda, which has put out some great cars in the recent years earning recognitions from consumers for the easy and fun to drive Mazda 3, Mazda 6, and the RX-8 has their eyes set on making Generation X drivers fall in love with them all over again. At the Detroit Auto Show, they rolled out the Ryuga concept which has the futuristic feel reminiscent of back to the future 2, the sexiness of a Lamborghini and on top of that...you get the feeling that the designers at Mazda play a lot of Halo 3 or Gears of War. This machine looks like a dream they pulled out a videogame.

The interior is designed for the driver and really allows the driver to feel like he/she is in control. If you check out the picture, you'll see that the steering "wheel" and dash is designed with elements that resemble Nintendo peripherals and incorporate a plethora of blue lights.

Do i think that Gen-X will love this car? It's hard to say...It's worth parking in front of a club to attract girls but i don't think it has lasting appeal to it. I'm not buying it unless I can i bring my wii-mote!

Via [autoblog.com]

my phone is dead. Let me get my bicycle!!

While Apple releases the gadget of the year, motorola releases a laughable new, bicycle-powered cellphone charger aimed at "emerging markets" They mean China...among other third world markets. The bike charges the cellphone as you pedal. I seriously don't see this device taking off anytime soon. They forget to mention that bikes get stolen ALL THE TIME in china and by creating a product that is easy to steal...you really haven't gained anything. Yes...i know that the third world markets are untapped but come on... Where they are really going to screw everybody over is the charging system...when a new phone comes out, what are you going to do? get a new bike? get real.

via [vancouver sun]

photo via [engadget]

Apple iPhone - all asians must have it

Apple released the first ever images of the new and breathtaking iPhone today at the CES 2007. It's truly a revolutionary mobile phone featuring a 3.5" screen, touchscreen ipod controls, wifi, bluetooth, ipod features, and even web browsing is capable. How powerful is it? It runs OSX. That's gotta tell you something. This phone definately doesn't need to be taken to your local chinese phone modification store to change a cover. It's sexy as is.

Currently, it's only for cingular in the US. Get your preorders on now as it is priced competitively at $499 US for the 4GB version and $599 for the 8GB model. It will release in the US in June 2007, Europe late 2007 and in Asia in 2008.

Jooksing must buy!

via [Apple]

Hawaii - Catering to your customers

I recently returned from beautiful place of Hawaii, which is often referred to as paradise. Why, because the scenery and landscape is so beautiful, the climate is perfect (as one local there told me its either hot and dry, or hot and rainy) and does not have a climatic range like Canada. I had the chance to visit all 4 of the major islands, Kauai, Maui, Oahu, and Big Island. I must say Oahu is vastly different than all the other 3 as it is the most commercialized and has 80% of the entire population of the state of Hawaii. This is the island where the capital city of Hawaii is, namely Honolulu and hence is the most popular destination for tourists when they travel to Hawaii. What has shocked me the most about this city is the number of Japanese tourists who visit Honolulu. Just to give those of you an idea as to how many Japanese tourists visit Hawaii, I was told that if you wish to work in any of the hotels or retail shopping outlets and restaurants, if you do not speak Japanese, that makes your ability of getting hired that much harder. I mean, if you are asian, it seemed that it was customary for you to be greeted in Japanese and with a slight bow as if you were in Japan. Many of the stores and shops posted signs in Japanese, all the tour bus trolley drivers spoke Japanese I really felt as if I was somewhere else instead of Hawaii. To give you an idea of how business’ catered to their main demographic of people, I’ll tell you what I saw in 7-11. 7-11 to me is a place that I think of when you need a refreshing slurpee or some candy. What I saw at a 7-11 in Waikiki (which is the main tourists and hotel district of Honolulu) was Sushi. Yes, sushi on the go. That to me is definitely an example of a business that caters to its target market.

Aside from the culture shock and my surprise as to exactly how many Japanese tourists were there, as I was in the United States, I was actually very happy with it. I mean, imagine if you were Japanese, and you came here on a vacation, and aside from feeling a little lost, or out of place because usually the way of life is quite different from where home is, you come to a place where you are made to feel right at home, people speak your language, and you can even readily have access to the things you could only get at home (I’m referring to Japanese magazines being sold at all local ABC Convenient stores.

Another thing which surprised me as well was the cost of goods in Hawaii. Before leaving for Hawaii, I was told that everything is quite expensive there. Food, shopping, etc. However, aside from the cost of food at restaurants, the cost of goods to me was quite reasonable. I found that most of the goods at shops, stores and boutiques were priced as if they were on the mainland (meaning mainland USA, not mainland China haha), their state sales tax was only roughly 4.5% (sales tax is higher in other states, and way higher especially in Canada). From speaking to locals about the goods, its because there are so many International tourists that are attracted to there (again, mainly Japanese) the goods must be priced so they sell. And believe me, goods sell like crazy, and I mean the luxury stuff as well. Walking through Waikiki, it seemed like an Louis Vuitton or Gucci or Coach shopping bag was as common as a beach bag or beach towel on a beach! I’ve never seen so much of that product being sold at one time. Another thing of these stores was that there was at least 2 of these boutique stores within a 3 mile radius (Coach seemed to be on every block in Waikiki). Again, a great example of knowing your customers. Knowing your customers is key because if you can cater to them, they will buy from you without you even having to sell to them.

Owen
Business Editor

KK Siu - Why HK music sucks!

Hello! I am KK Siu. I am so glad to be involved in this jooksings.com project! I am quite into Asian pop culture, especially music! My friend Chris contacted me a few weeks ago and asked me if I would be interested in writing for jooksings.com. I thought he was kidding at first but then it actually sounded like a good idea. He thinks that I have a good insight into both asian and Caucasian music so I will be looking into giving you Jooksing boys and girls a deeper look into this industry that I’ve grown to love. But Let me tell you more about myself first.

What makes me a Jooksing? Well… I don’t consider myself a total Jooksing. I think I may be 40% Jooksing and 60% FOB. Not 100% but a good mix of both worlds for sure. I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I’m Chinese and I can still read and write it which is pretty good considered that I moved to Canada when I was 9. What makes me qualify for writing about music? Well, I started listening to music at a relative young age. Pop music has really interested me since I was little. If I tell you the music I listen to when I was a kid, you’d probably think I am a 30-something, but I am still in my 20’s. So that tells you how young I was when I started. I also have a few connections in the HK music industry: I wish I had that 10 years ago, which would’ve been nice, but now no one listens to HK music, and it’s kind of sad, cuz it used to be a big part of my life. I don’t know if I am the only one who is as crazy as me: there was no internet back then, and newspaper was the only source to find out when a CD is released. CD usually get shipped from HK to Canada in 2 weeks and I will time my next trip to Chinatown to get the latest release! I didn’t care if HK CDs cost twice as much as ‘western’ CDs and most of the time I have no clue on what the songs are like (remember, no mp3s back then), but I still spent a huge chunk of my allowance on them. Nowadays, HK music is crap. What happened? I don’t think it has to do with me getting old and not being able to appreciate music, I still buy loads of English and Jpop CDs… I put on my thinking hat and came up with this:

The reasons why HK Music sucks.

1. There is only one music genre in HK! – 80% of the hit songs in HK are ballads! Because they are easy to sing in karaoke! The rest … are just the same boring Canto-pop songs. Talk about BORING~ Rock? Alternative? R&B? Hip Hop? Rap? What’s that?

2. “Singers” who can’t sing – in every music industry, there are accidental stars that can’t sing but hit it big anyway with their pretty faces. The situation in HK is a lot worse: your chance of becoming a singer depends on your looks and not your musical talent. I always wonder what would people from other culture thinks when they hear some of our singers. Will they think all Chinese are crappy singers? Or will they think there’s something in our genes that affects our hearing?

3. Singing actors? – yes…this is similar to #2, but I would like to put it here anyway. Why do they make actors sing the theme songs of their own movies/TV series??? Tony Leung and Andy Lau sang the theme song to Infernal Affairs sounding like amateurs and everyone seem to be quite ok with it ... now can you imagine Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio doing that for The Departed???? Don’t think the idea would fly in Hollywood but the Chinese don’t seem to mind.

4. Copy-cat culture – Take a look at this first, and you’d think WTF… I don’t understand why they have to copy an international hit every time!!! It’s probably smarter to copy songs that no one has heard of, right?

5. Second, Third, Forth…versions – the initial press of the CD usually comes with the album only, 2nd version comes with a Music Video DVD, then the 3rd version comes with a concert DVD… so why buy the initial press? By the time the last version is released, I’ve already gotten bored of the songs!

6. No Bands! – How can there be no bands in a music scene??? Well, HK has none! There are a few but they are all labelled as alternative or indie and seem to never be able to make it in the mainstream.  Something’s seriously wrong!

7. Only two people writing lyrics? – yes, there are only two people writing 90% of HK pop song lyrics at the moment! These two can probably brainwash the whole population of HK if they want to.

8. Huge CD cases – those irregular shaped CD package are terrible and a total nightmare for CD collectors! Just use a regular CD case for once! The fancy packages are totally unnecessary! Please focus on music production instead!

KK Siu
Entertainment

Para Para in America?

Hey guys and gals. Since my last post of Yunnie doing a para para dance in her room. I just wanted to elaborate on what the hell para para actually is. Para Para is a type of dance that comes from japan. It's similar to Line Dancing where everybody does it at the same time. It's heavily influenced by Japanese Anime and it's starting to make it's way to Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore. What you don't know is if it's gonna make it's way to America. Personally, i don't think it's ever gonna happen. Jooksings over here are way to conservative and I really can't see myself doing that to Jay Z's new beat or Rihanna's latest jam. I might poke some black dude in the eye. Can you imagine Para Para at distrikt?? I think it'd be cool to see though. It just takes a group of asian hotties to start it off. You never know.

Anyway...if you want to go to Japan to party...you have to follow what the hell they are doing otherwise you'll stand out really quick and you'll be deemed the loser in the crowd. So if you wanna brush up on your Para Para dance skills then i suggest you go to your closest arcade and find a game of para para xd from Konami. check out these videos.

gears of war promo vlog in japan

This is a pretty creative way to promote a video game. Microsoft Japan seems to have created some hype around Yunnie, a cute japanese girl from japan, via youtube. I'm not japanese...so i have no idea what she's saying...but it's really apparent that they've created a real intimate relationship with the viewers and yunnie worldwide and then by the 10th episode on december 26th, launched a campaign to kick off a gears of war youtube campaign.



After that episode, they launched part 2 of that episode and it has this monster underneath the bed. after some struggling "gearsofwar.jp" pops up on the screen. Can anybody translate this? Contact me.



After that, on January 4th, another episode appears on you tube! This time, it features Yunnie doing a Para Para dance with the Gears of War Monster underneath the bed. After she's done her dance, another screen of "gearsofwar.jp" pops up. Personally, i can't wait to see the next video. Gears of War launches in Japan on January 18th. So i know they'll have another video coming soon.

Stefani's favorite hair products

These are my favorite hair products: Redkin All Soft Shampoo & Conditioner This shampoo is an ultra-rich formula that gently cleanses and softens dry, brittle or coarse hair. This is the first shampoo that I have used which I absolutely love. All other shampoos that I have used in the past made my hair dry and left fly aways. I honestly just wash, dry slightly and go.
Aveda Volumizing Tonic Don’t be fooled, this Product isn’t a hairspray. But what it does is it creates maximum volume on fine and or medium hair. Scent wise, it’s uplifting with the combination of essential oils. The other ingredients in it include organic aloe and wheat amino acids which work to build body and add shine. I like to use it on those days that have humidity. It works in the right way to make me have a “good” hair day. (via aveda)

Frederic Fekkai Glossing Cream I have used a lot of different glosses for hair, and must say this is the best one I have used so far. It actually is a leave in conditioner that protects the hair at the same time with UVA & UVB sunscreens. It absorbs so fast that once I put it on, I can go out the door. Believe me, this one leaves no greasiness and doesn’t make your hair oily at the end of the day. (via sephora)

I love my asian hair...and you should too

Why is it we always seem to want what we can’t have? I thought to myself, “What would I look like with an Aphro?” NO, you know what I am serious. This thought has crossed my mind. Whenever I tell my friends, they think I am nuts. I joke about it from time to time. Because I thought it would be fun and way out different. I mean how often do you see an Asian gal with tight curly locks? Not that I am really sure if the texture of hair is able to do that. Either way, my point is that I hear people complaining about their hair all the time. I work in an office where the make-up of the employees is pretty multicultural. I mean the office is right smack downtown Toronto, but still. The topic of hair seems to be brought up at least once out of the week during lunch hours. “I have to go sit with my dresser for 4 hours so she can relax my hair” I wonder how long it will take to achieve and Asian Aphro.

They always tell me how nice and beautiful my hair is. It has taken a few years of no dye and frequent cuts at a good stylist to achieve this.

A few years ago was asked to participate in a hair show. I was told you get paid and hourly rate, a hair cut and color. The only draw back is they can “Do whatever they want” and you have to sit on top of a stage. I agreed. I guess being Chinese in all the “free” part seemed to weigh it self out more than the rest.

I came out with a bright hue of red and about 4-5 inches cut off. It wasn’t that crazy of a cut which was the upside. It looked good while it lasted, but I almost forgot how much of a hassle it is to maintain the color. The growing out stages was definitely the most annoying. I used to always dye my hair in high school. I am sure most of us had our hair dying mishaps. But long were those days, and the red seemed all new.

Last month, I was asked to be a hair model again. This time I knew better. I just simply nonchalantly turned them down with a smile and a pleasant “thank you for your interest, but no thank you”.

Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with dying your hair or cutting it in crazy dos. By all means, celebrate your individuality. I am just not into the upkeep. There are tons of you out there that look amazing with your dyed locks, especially when it matches your skin tone. There are so many people that I come across in life that tell me, “I don’t remember what color my natural hair color is.” I then ask “isn’t it the same color as your eyebrows?” They say “No, I dyed those too...”

For me, at the end of the day I want to just enjoy what I was born with.
I can’t wake up with curly hair. I know the Japanese laser treatments work fine and dandy. But I am happy now knowing that I can’t have a natural Aphro.
Finding a good hair stylist is almost like finding a good friend that is there with you until the end. Hair products are also a tough call. They work different for everyone; however it’s taken me a long time after many trial and errors to find the following which are working for me.

Stefani
Fashion Editor

TokiDoki is Hot

Chris’s most recent entry was entry about Tokidoki’s newly launched ipod skins. It made me want to elaborate about my experience which is a little long overdue. I attended the “POOL” trade show this past summer in August of 2006 @ the Mandalay Bay Convention center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The whole theme “POOL” came into play with the help of guest Art Director Simone Legno’s playful interpretation of “POOL.

”The tote carry-alls ( as shown below) , guest passes, plastic fans, line yards, give- aways, DJ booths, and a crew of workers were all dressed as lifeguards waiting to rescue the buyers from the heat. Buyers, retail owners and designers had fluorescent pink seating to take a little break from all the orders they had to fill for their stores. Out of all the shows; Magic and Project, I thought pool was a fun yet un-intimidating environment. I had a lot of fun walking the show and meeting designers and talking to store owners.

Buyers were lining up and hoarding around the booth to make their orders for spring 2007 to fill their stores. Toys, clothing, timepieces, footwear and collaboration with Le Sport Sac hit it off with all buyers from around the world. Cute coin pouches, wallets and handbags are great for the day out of town or shopping. Starting at about $ 30 they are great finds or little gift items.

All of the art work reminds me of Japanese Anime, which I am guessing that is where the inspiration is taken from. I kept the fan from the show; it now hangs from my Ikea book shelf. Check out the new collaboration with Fornarina. In the past they have designed street wear clothing, this is the first collaboration with a guest celebrity artist. In another color, I’d totally buy them. The silhouette of the sandal is easy to wear yet looks good on almost anyone.

Another collaboration which is new for them is with Smash box Cosmetics I just saw the cosmetics on display at Shoppers Drug mart today. Color is one of the elements of design that sells. The packaging is great. Check it out!

Tokidoki is hot. This is definitely an explosion of marketing in various productlines. It's almost a fresh breath from hello kitty and friends.Watch out for further collaborations in various product lines. I think I am going to go and try some of the smash box products now. I just bought some new DuWop lip glosses, so maybe I will go and try some of their shadows. Hey, like I said packaging sells. Sold me.

iPod iSkin by tokidoki

This is a really cool product for all ipod owners out there. Finally, an ipod skin that doesn't look ugly. This is by far one of the nicest looking skins out there that i have seen. TokiDoki is one of the hottest brands right now...and you know what? although it's japanese influenced..it's designed by an italian designer by the name of Simone Legno

I'm sure that you'll agree these ipod skins are hype!

KFC Kimchi Burger!!

Hmm...everytime i finish eating a meal of KFC, i start to feel the itis. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to eat it again. This KFC product from Taiwan looks pretty good. It's crispy chicken sandwich with Kimchi!! It's 2.50 CAD for the sandwich and about $4.50 for the combo. I'd give it a try!!

China's new Anger Bar is a big hit...literally

A new Bar in China named the Rising Sun Release Bar is gaining popularity because it allows you to do something that you can't do in any other bar...or any place other than a boxing ring. You can actually walk into this bar and beat the crap out of the employees that are "specially trained" while getting served the beer you want. Some of the clients come into the bar because they don't have anywhere else to release anger and stress. The funny thing is...I wouldn't mind a bar like this in Toronto. You'd never run out of creepy white dudes taking all the asian chicks!

Via [BBC NEWS]

Japanese do it topless on New Years Eve!

It's not what you think. It isn't exactly topless girls in school girl uniforms. Oh wait...that's what i was thinking...uh...anyway...Japan's national broadcaster (the equivalent of cbc in canada but just way cooler) broadcasted it's New Years Eve Musical Event and it had a performance from DJ OZMA who was jammin his new hit track "Bounce with me" when his creative team dreamed up this wonderful silly idea of giving the female dancers NUDE bodysuits complete with boobies to wear. I thought it was hilarious. Of course, that idea would never catch on over here in the Americas. All the Soccer Moms would freak out. That being said...ppl in Japan aren't all weird. Over 250 ppl called in to complain about the body suits.

Here's a video clip. It's a little long and if you can't stand the jap music...just scroll all the way to 2:15 and you'll see some boobies. Wait...the kicker of this whole thing is the end of the clip at 3:40 when the girls take their panties off and have this weird strap on looking thing and then this old guy turns around. WTF was that? And if you really want to change the stereotype...couldn't you use a bigger strap on?
Crazy Japanese. I love you. You make me laugh. and you make good Pocky too.

[VIA Reuters]

Proof that Asians Play way too much street fighter

When i was growing up in calgary, there was this 7-11 that had a street fighter II machine that was closeby. My cousin introduced me to the game. Little did i know that that very first quarter would be the beginning of the disease i call streetfighteritis. I went to the arcade every chance i get just to see what other white kid i could crush with a perfect score. The disease became so bad that i skipped days of school and even got into an arcade fight because this guy cheap me with a throw. I know...stupid huh? Nowadays, I look forward to nostalgic roms and emus to fulfill my need of street fighter. Some people do it differently...this video shows this couple chose street fighter as the theme of choice for their very fun to watch salsa dance.

The other is my all time favorite street fighter clip which i'm pretty sure you've seen already. Enjoy!

Sun Leen Fai Lok! What is Jooksings.com 2007 Resolutions

I hope you all had a crazy new year. From Vancouver to Toronto and New York to San Francisco there were some crazy jams and i'm hoping that all of you drove home safe and sound. It's now 2007 and it's that time of year to make your new years resolutions. What are Jooksings.com resolutions? Well...here they are.

In 2007, Jooksings.com plans to introduce

Syndicated RSS Feeds from other Jooksing Bloggers.

Ratings and Comment systems

A new and exciting Brand Identity

Quality Articles from Featured Editors

Better website layout and adoption away from the blogger program into a custom format.

POP up video blogs

Jooksings.com merchandise

Hope you are all looking forward to the new year because we know we are.