The word 'Artist' is used as a type of classification / hierarchy on AnD. Is it justified? or used inappropriately? Celebrities that call themselves 'Artists' do they create their own material? Is it their own experience or written by a second party - song writer or a copy writer? Did these 'Artists' copy / create a 'style' and not Art?
Are people using this website for the sole benefit of:
A. Promoting themselves
B. Selling Corporate Material
C. Mixing with the high class...
Someone found a bug in their pasta. That reminded me of the time I
found a cockroach leg whilst drinking my last sips of coke... Anyway,
the bugs were all dead though, but it was sickening. It was packaged in
Mainland China, and then distributed from HK.
With all the talk of fake food this and fake food that from Mainland
China, now I have to check the packaging to see where the stuff was
packed. Creepy...
If
that doesn't make you squirm, a clip of Bear Grylls eating a Rhino
Beetle Larvae might have done the trick, but i'm not evil enough to
show you that mahahaha... So i'll just show you a more cultural and civilized way of eating spiders.. Read on.. =D
This is a video documentary of a village in Skuon, well known to people as 'spider village'. Just over an hour outside the capital Phnom Penh, Skuon sits on the main route to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The origins of arachnid consumption, however, are founded in necessity
rather than extravagance. During the years of terror and genocide
instigated by the Khmer Rouge, the spiders played their part in saving
the locals of Skuon. As villagers were driven deeper into the jungle to
avoid persecution, starvation was rife and culinary invention became
essential for survival. The size of the Skuon spiders was undoubtedly
their shortcoming - reaching up to 15cm across they were an obvious
source of vital protein.
But since then, the taste for them has become more enduring, and Skuon has managed to capitalise on its eight-legged friends and providing the main source of income. A live spider is pan fryed until 'hot and crispy' (frying is believed to worsen the chest
problems), and left outside overnight to collect dew, before being
eaten. But their primary use is undeniably gastronomic, and the cooking
process results in a delicious, protein-packed treat.
That's right 90%. Calvin Wongs latest blog inspired me to post this today, if you have some spare time I recommend you visit his blog. If you have read it, this is just some further insight of the problems we face in Cantonese music today.
I created a group on facebook called 'Help! 90% of all the Cantonese singers can't sing!' about a year ago, this is some of the observations I made during that time.
SO WHY IS THIS GROUP CREATED? In the very beginning this group was
created not only for my understanding of Cantopop. It is also a personal plea for help for the young generation of
Cantopop lovers to wake up, and smell the lovely brew of fresh coffee; I don't want to be rude however music from bands such as 'Twins, Yumiko, Sunboy'z, HotCha etc..' is not
just bad, it's plain embarrassing.
But the blame for bad music
doesn't just point towards the consumers who buy their CDs, piracy
though internet, fake CDs from China and over-commercialized singers,
but also with greedy companies and of course... our own culture.
WHY ARE COMPANIES TO BLAME? Companies
such as EEG with the help of TVB are creating, brainwashing and
marketing talentless singers. TVB promotes actors who had little or no
singing experience, by broadcasting new MTVs of new wannabe
teenagers/models who can't sing on afternoon/late night TV, and
inviting them to their own award ceremonies such as JSG, to earn
quick cash though Broadcasting and CD sales. This not only degrades the
quality of music, but also the way we think of what quality music is.
HOW DO CANTONESE MUSIC COMPANIES CUT COSTS? Unlike
Korea, Japan and American MTVs, little money and effort had been put
into creating Cantonese MTVs, since they choose some of the following
to cut basic costs:
- Use well known TVB actors to sing, attracting the main fan base and make quick money. - Cut the use of voice enhancing machines, saving time and money. - Use of a lot more facial close up shots, saving money on locations. - No specially made studios or expensive props, just cheap ones. - Cheaply made computer generated graphics. - Locations around Hong Kong are more commonly used, such as HK airport,
Central, Peoples homes etc rather than the use from locations such as
China or other countries.
In the hope of quick sales, by
brainwashing the public into their kind of money music, they are
lowering the standards of Cantonese music.
HOW ARE WE BRAINWASHED? The
majority who were born outside Hong Kong could define from the mad
amount of amateur MTVs that these videos may sound off key in a lot of
places. A small portion of those born inside Hong Kong may not realize
that they have already been brainwashed to set the standards of
Cantopop music by big corporate companies which includes:
- MTV broadcasting on the KMB bus/mini bus. - Broadcasting ADs; includes the singer or music soundtrack on KCR. - Repetitive song repeating on the RTHK radio. - Public promotional events/like singing inside shopping malls. - ADs and MTVs, that are broadcasted on big TVs inside shopping centers or outside on the main streets. - Slimming ads plastered on billboards, bus shelters and train-stations.
WHAT IS QUANTITY VS QUALITY? IS OUR CULTURE REALLY TO BLAME? Where
else in the world would you see a singer bring out a new album within
every 4-6 months due to popularity? Hong Kong is a small city that
survives from not just trade and tourism, but from the export of goods
including music to other countries like Britain, America and Japan, so
our culture of 'the quick sell' is partly to blame. It will forever be
quantity over quality, because quantity means more and faster income.
WHERE DOES THE GROUP STAND NOW? Thankfully
during the first month, I realized from the sharp increase in members
and from posts written, people would also look for other
alternative music such as Chinese, American, British, Japanese,
Taiwanese, and Korean. I mean where else would you find such a diverse
range of music in any country other than Hong Kong? Companies provide
imports in the hope to boost CD sales, but they can't just rely on
Cantopop and that's saying something.
I also noticed in an EEG website that sales dropped rapidly thoughout these 10 years, however EEG is a huge corporation with many brother and sister companies thoughout Hong Kong, China and Macau, so the money isn't a problem.
If there are members who
also believe that we are being robbed of good quality and quantity
music/singers/MTVs, then maybe we should do something about it, by
supplying the right kind of knowledge, we can help change the way
people think about what quality music really is.
SO WHY IS THERE A MARKET FOR BANDS LIKE TWINS? There
will always be a small group of minors who will need idols such as
'Twins' to worship to. It's wrong but maybe it's something to help them
get though the stress at school, boredom, social popularity, or from
beauty. Vanity is the after the effects from brainwashing slim ADs and
makeup ADs that had made a devastating effect on society to stay
pretty, spotless, white skinned etc etc.. TV and magazines are also to
blame again (note: some major magazine companies and restaurants are also owned by EEG).
However the kids are not all to blame, they are also being brainwashed to watch/listen to TVB/Cantopop stars from a young age.
- Afternoon Kids TV which feature their MTVs with kids. - The opening music to popular kids anime shows. - Cantonese dubbing for anime films. - TVB dramas also feature Cantopop stars.
This is just some of the devious ways of marketing done by TVB. Try watching JSG on wednesday at 11.15pm TVB. More than half the audience is hired or part of the singers fan-base, if you want a revolution perhaps we should start here.
Chinese dinner etiquette is not just nice to know, it's a must-know. It's like someone not
knowing how to use a knife and fork in a restaurant and making
a fool of oneself.
It's not that hard to explain to people how important it is when
eating with chopsticks, and to most non-Asians who want to get into the chopstick, may find it a bit frustrating if they don't know how to use them. It was Asians who were
thought to be barbarians for not knowing how to use the knife and fork
by their western counterparts, and vice-versa. It's good to know that it's
normal to see a non-Asian holding a pair of chopsticks nowadays, self-taught from an illustration demonstrated on a handy chopstick wrapper! =D
Me and a bunch of friends were in
a Chinese restaurant. It was part of a package tour we paid for. Most of the people around the table were Chinese tourists except the two Chinese friends I was with and a friend from the UK. The four of us decided to use chopsticks and bowls. When the food arrived, I was
speaking to my friend for a few minutes, just as I turned around I noticed
that everyone grabbed as much food as possible in their bowls. It is
meant to be communal for all to share, but there was hardly anything
left for my friends. So we looked like an ass that night. Oh well, I should probably learn to explain how communal
sharing of food works at a Chinese dinner with strangers.
Two years after Kubrick's death, Jon Ronson was
invited to the director's estate to explore the hundreds of boxes the
legendary film director had collected during his decades at Childwick
Manor in Hertfordshire. He's been returning ever since, and the story
of Kubrick and the archive, now housed at University of the Arts
London, is revealed in this fascinating documentary.
Ronson asks:
is it possible to get to understand such a man and his extraordinary
working methods by looking through the hundreds of boxes he left
behind?
If you like Stanley Kubricks work and you have 49mins to spare, it's worth a watch.
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