#A Chinese Odyssey: Million Years | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

the-monkey-ruler · 10 months

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A Chinese Odyssey: Million Years (2017) 大话西游之爱你一万年

Director: Zhu Ruibin

Screenwriter: Liu Zhenwei / Tian Liangliang / Chen Chen

Starring: Huang Zitao / Yin Zheng / Zhao Yi / Liu Tianzuo / Du Ruoxi / Wen Xin / Jiang Long / Ye Liu / Yang Juncheng / Wu Dawei / Huang Zheng / Gong Beibi / Mi Lu / Xue Jianing / Fang Anna / Shi Xiu / Hu Yunhao / Xia Yu / Wang Peiran / Yan Zidong

Genre: Comedy / Romance / Costume

Country/Region of Production: Mainland China

Language: Mandarin Chinese

Date: 2017-09-28 (Mainland China)

Episodes: 54

Single episode length: 45 minutes

Also known as: Westward Journey TV Series / A Chinese Odyssey: Love You a Million Years

IMDb: tt6011474

Type: Reimagining

Summary:

Five hundred years ago, Zixia (Zhao Yi ornaments) went down to find the the Sunset Warrior (Zhuang Zikai) who pulled out the Ziqing sword, but it broke the Ziqing sword. In order to restore the sword, Zixia uses the Moonlight Box to travel through time. Five hundred years later, Joker lost the memory of its previous life, and was reincarnated as leader of the Ax Gang, and the kind-hearted Bai Jingjing got along with each other both day and night. But Bai Jingjing was tricked by Black Spider Demon to pull out her sword and commit suicide. In order to save Bai Jingjing, Joker used the Moonlight Treasure Box to travel back five hundred years ago. When the two meet at Pansi Dongkou, Zixia realizes that the one in front of her her Sunset Warrior from five hundred years ago, but she finds that he has fallen in love with someone else.

The Bull Demon King is greedy for her beauty and even threatens the life of the Joker to marry Zixia. In the chaos, Joker was transmitted to the modern future by the Moonlight Box, and Joker through the journey saw his heart clearly. Joker fights the Bull Demon King to save Zixia. At a critical moment, Zixia blocked the fatal blow of the Bull Demon King for Joker. At this time, Qingxia, who was eager to save her sister, reached an agreement with the Six-Eared Macaque, and arranged a play according to the number of days, thus changing the fate of Zixia and Zhizunbao. The chaos in the world finally returns to everyone, and Zixia and Joker finally have a happy ending.

Source: http://chinesemov.com/tv/2017/A-Chinese-Odyssey.html

Link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIx8QniXH-rHw4BZ4G6w0kPboNYqQSr4l

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fayewonglibrary · 10 months

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Happy birthday, Faye Wong: 4 of the Hong Kong Cantopop star’s career and personal highlights (2023)

As Faye Wong turns 54, we look back at how she captured people’s hearts in Asia by being herself and focusing on one thing: her music

She had sold nearly 10 million albums by 2000 and has starred in several movies, including Chungking Express, for which she won a best actress award

by Nicole Tan

No one can say Faye Wong didn’t do it all her own way.

Born in Beijing in 1969, the singer and actress – who turns 54 today – went from not knowing a word of Cantonese to becoming a beloved Hong Kong music star to being honoured by Time magazine as one of the “divas of pop”.

She’s known for avoiding the spotlight and keeping a limited public presence, yet Wong’s undeniable talent has cemented her as one of Asia’s most popular divas, one that will be remembered for decades to come.

Here are some of her career milestones and major achievements.

She claimed her place in the Guinness World Records

Wong was one of the first women to dominate Hong Kong’s music industry.

By 2000 she had sold about 9.7 million copies of her 20 studio albums, making her, according to Guinness World Records, the bestselling female Cantopop artist of all time.

2. She was never one for spectacle – and it still paid off

Whereas other singers would put on elaborate concerts filled with dancing and extravagance, Wong focused on delivering one thing to audiences: her music.

Fans flocked to her performances to be mesmerised by her nightingale voice, one that brought her accolades including 2004’s best female artist in Hong Kong and Taiwan, awarded by the Top Chinese Music Awards.

Her 2003 concert tour, “No Faye No Live”, sold 30,000 tickets within three days, setting a Hong Kong record at the time.

3. She remained unapologetically herself, even in the limelight

Wong drew praise – and controversy – for her uncurated and authentic public image.

Fans admired her for being a “modern” woman, independent and unbothered by what A-list celebrities or agents might have to say.

She married Beijing rock star Dou Wei in 1996 in what the public deemed an “unlikely” pairing. Today, many criticise her relationship with actor Nicholas Tse – which they rekindled in 2014 after dating from 2000 to 2003 – but Wong remains unapologetic in her pursuit of love.

4. She also left her mark on Hong Kong cinema

Wong starred in several movies, including Wong Kar-wai’s 1994 comedy-drama Chungking Express, 2002’s Chinese Odyssey, and 2004’s 2046.

Her portrayal of Faye in Chungking Express, a young woman with an unusual approach to romance, won her the best actress award at the 1994 Stockholm Film Festival.

Although Wong maintains a low profile, the career she has built for herself over the span of almost three decades is rediscovered time and time again today. It is this legacy that one of her daughters, 26-year-old singer Leah Dou, looks to carry on.

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SOURCE: SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

#2023

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spacenutspod · 7 months

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The ground shakes. Paintings tilt. Walls crack. Rubble may fall. On Earth, we understand how and where these events happen due to the discovery of plate tectonics – the continental crust’s creation, movement, and destruction. However, when astronauts placed seismometers on the lunar surface during NASA’s Apollo mission era, those instruments recorded quakes on the Moon. In the 1970s, the Viking landers also recorded quakes on the surface of Mars. Since neither of these worlds has plate tectonics, scientists set about collecting more data to understand the phenomena, which led to the recent NASA InSight lander. Now, a new paper in Geophysical Research Letters explains how the largest recorded seismic event on Mars provided evidence for a different sort of tectonic origin — the release of stress within the Martian crust. On Wednesday, May 4, 2022, InSight recorded a record-breaking magnitude 4.7 marsquake with an epicenter about 2,200 kilometers away from the lander. The resulting tremors shook the planet for the next six hours. The event was large, but scientists had no reason to believe the cause was anything different from the usual meteoroid impact. After all, InSight had recorded no fewer than eight impact-related quakes, the two largest of which resulted in separate craters about 150 meters in diameter. This new event – cataloged as S1222a – generated a quake energetic enough for the resulting crater to be on the order of 300 meters in diameter with a potential blast zone nearly 200 kilometers wide. This spectrogram shows the largest quake ever detected on another planet. Estimated at magnitude 5, this quake was discovered by NASA’s InSight lander on May 4, 2022, the 1,222nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ETH Zurich All three events had several similarities, including long-period surface waves. There were, however, differences in the wave data types collected. Lead author Benjamin Fernando from the University of Oxford still suspected an impact as the cause of S1222a. He gathered up a team to find the crater, requesting help from a number of organizations, including the European Space Agency, the Chinese National Space Agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation, and the United Arab Emirates Space Agency, all of whom have or had missions in orbit around the red planet. These orbiters have been collecting a wide range of images, covering the entire visible spectrum as well as some near-infrared (Mars Odyssey) and ultraviolet (Emirates Mars Mission and MAVEN) bands. InSight’s seismometer, SEIS, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure. Credit: NASA/JPL The team ended up taking several months to search the nearly 144 million square kilometers of Martian surface using low- and medium-resolution images from all of their respective orbiters. No new craters in the correct size were discovered. Nor did they find any signatures of potential new craters such as a dust cloud from the impact or a dark patch representing the expected blast zone. Without the mechanics of plate tectonics, the team concluded that the 4.7 temblor had to have been caused by the “release of enormous tectonic forces within Mars’ interior”. As Fernando explains, “We still think that Mars doesn’t have any active plate tectonics today, so this event was likely caused by the release of stress within Mars’ crust. These stresses are the result of billions of years of evolution; including the cooling and shrinking of different parts of the planet at different rates.” While the imagery ruled out an impact cause for this marsquake, further analysis of the wave data is necessary to understand fully the nature of Mars’ tectonic mechanics, and that analysis is ongoing. Unfortunately, NASA’s InSight reached the end of its mission in December 2022, so now the data collection focus will be on upcoming lunar missions from another assortment of international organizations. We look forward to more collaborations in the quest for understanding our solar system. Original Source: University of Oxford press release The post “The Big One”: The Most Powerful Marsquake Ever Detected appeared first on Universe Today.

#space #astronomy #news #science

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ahsan0011 · 9 months

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The Casino Industry: A High-Stakes Journey through Past, Present, and Future

Introduction:

Casinos, often dubbed as "the house of chance," have been a prominent and ever-evolving aspect of human entertainment for centuries. This article delves into the captivating world of casinos, tracing their historical roots, examining their current global impact, and contemplating the innovations and challenges that lie ahead for this thriving industry.

A Historical Odyssey:

The origins of casinos can be traced back to ancient civilizations. From the Roman Empire's dice games to the Chinese development of playing cards, gambling has been an intrinsic part of human culture for millennia. However, Kubutogel it wasn't until the 17th century that the first recognized casinos emerged in Venice, Italy, offering a controlled environment for gamblers to engage in various games of chance.

Las Vegas: The Entertainment Capital:

The 20th century saw the rise of the most iconic gambling destination in the world: Las Vegas, Nevada. What started as a small desert town transformed into a mecca for entertainment, gambling, and opulence. The Las Vegas Strip, with its dazzling lights, luxurious resorts, and world-renowned casinos, epitomizes the casino industry's allure. Las Vegas became a symbol of extravagance and has consistently attracted millions of visitors each year.

The Global Casino Landscape:

While Las Vegas remains a gambling powerhouse, the casino industry has expanded far beyond Nevada's borders. Macau, China, emerged as the world's largest gambling hub, surpassing even Las Vegas in terms of revenue. Other countries, Alternatif Kubutogel from Singapore to Australia, have embraced casino gaming as a means to boost tourism and economic growth. The globalization of the industry has created diverse gaming experiences worldwide, catering to a wide range of preferences.

The Digital Revolution:

The casino industry is no stranger to technological innovation. The advent of online casinos has revolutionized the way people gamble, making casino games accessible from the comfort of one's home or even on the go. Mobile apps and websites have opened up new avenues for players, providing a convenient alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar casinos.

The Future of Casinos:

As technology continues to advance, the casino industry faces new opportunities and challenges. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are poised to reshape the way we experience casinos, offering immersive gaming environments that bridge the gap between online and land-based gambling. Additionally, the industry is increasingly adopting blockchain technology to enhance transparency and security in transactions.

Responsible Gaming:

As the industry evolves, daftar Kubutogel responsible gaming practices have become a paramount concern. Casino operators are investing in measures to promote responsible gambling, such as self-exclusion programs and education campaigns. Ensuring the well-being of patrons and providing support for individuals with gambling problems is a critical aspect of the industry's future.

Conclusion:

The casino industry has undergone a remarkable transformation over the centuries, from its humble origins to the global entertainment phenomenon it is today. With technology driving innovation and the expansion of gaming options, the industry is set to continue evolving. However, it is imperative that the allure and excitement of casinos are balanced with responsible practices to ensure that the experience remains enjoyable and sustainable for all participants. The future of casinos is a high-stakes journey with many exciting chapters yet to be written.

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dhappyorangec · 9 months

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List of Zheng YeCheng's past, current, and future works.

Zheng YeCheng, born on August 26, 1993 in Jilin City, Jilin Province, is a film and television actor in Mainland China.

Height: 5'11''

At the age of 7, he began to study Peking Opera, and at the age of 10, he was admitted to the Shanghai Theatre Academy's Affiliated Xiqu School to formally study martial arts.

List of Zheng YeCheng's Filmography: (will make a list with links where to watch later)

1. 2013: “The Cosplayer” movie: Zheng YeCheng as Bang Bang Tang/”Lollipop” - support role (dubbed)

2. 2014: “Swords of Legends” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Wang Cai - support role (dubbed)

3. 2014: “He and His Sons” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Gao Mai - main role (original voice)

4. 2014: “A Legend of Chinese Immortal” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Lan Cai He - support role (dubbed)

5. 2014: “The Romance of the Condor Heroes” drama: Zheng YeCheng as General Xiao Wang - support role (dubbed)

5B: 2015: "Half and Half Love is not Full" Xiao Mo

6. 2015: “The Journey of Flower” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Nan Xian Yue/Nan Wu Yue - support role (dubbed)

7. 2015: “Intouchable” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Yu Zao Chuan - main role (dubbed)

8. 2015: “Seventeen Blue” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Wang Zi Qiao - support role (original voice)

9. 2015: “Legend of Mi Yue” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Song Yu - support role (dubbed)

10. 2016: “Revive” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Li Xiao - support role (dubbed)

11. 2016: “Singing All Along” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Deng Yu (Teen) - support role (dubbed)

12. 2016: “Love O2O” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Hao Mei - support role (original voice)

13 A&B: 2016: “Bu Liang Ren I & II” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Li Xing Yun/Emperor Zhaozong of Tang - main role (dubbed)

14. 2016: “Guardians of the Night” movie: Zheng YeCheng as Ye Yan - main role (dubbed)

15. 2017: “The Song” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Du Chun Sheng - support role (dubbed)

16. 2017: “Lost Love in Times” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Ling Long Shi - guest role (dubbed)

17A: 2017: “Let’s Shake It!” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Tang Qing Feng - main role (original voice)

17B: 2018: “Let’s Shake It! 2” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Tang Qing Feng - main role (original voice)

18. 2018: “An Oriental Odyssey” drama: Zheng YeCheng as MuLe/Prince A’Ying - main role (original voice)

19A: 2019: “Royal Nirvana” drama: Zheng YeCheng as General Gu Feng’en - support role (original voice)

19B: 2020: “Royal Nirvana” (Special) drama: Zheng YeCheng as General Gu Feng’en - support role (original voice)

20. 2020: “Love of Thousand Years” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Fu JiuYun - main role (original voice)

21. 2020: “The Sleepless Princess” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Xue Yao/Guan Shan - main role (original voice)

22. 2021: “Crossroad Bistro” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Zhao He Nan - support role (original voice)

23. 2021: “Stealth Walker” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Zhang Xian He - main role (original voice)

24. 2021: “Love Under the Full Moon” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Xu XiaoDong - main role (original voice)

25. 2021: “Medal of the Republic” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Feng Ke Shan - support role (original voice)

26. 2022: “Mirror: A Tale of Twin Cities” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Zhen Lan/Lang Gan/Zhi Zhe - support role (original voice)

27. 2022: “My Sassy Princess” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Shen Yan - main role (dubbed)

28: “Hualong District One” name changed to “Enlighten Your Life” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Lin Qi - main role, original voice.

29. “Desire Catcher” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Lu Feng Ping - main role, original voice.

Anticipating:

“An Eternal Thought” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Bai Xiao Chun - main role

“The Assassin” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Zhu Jing/Jing Zhen - main role

=====

Detailed with links:

1. The Cosplayer aka "Million Love Baby" (2013) (Starring as Lollipop)

This is Zheng Yecheng's first film and television work. He played the role of a player named Lollipop who participated in a large-scale game competition in this movie. He only appeared in a few scenes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5u_Edq4fxM (2:10 mins)

2. 2014: “Swords of Legends” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Wang Cai - support role (dubbed)

This is Zheng Yecheng's first appearance on television screens, playing the role of a naive and cute book boy named Wangcai. He only appeared for a few minutes throughout the entire series, but his handsome appearance captivated the audience and couldn't be ignored. https://youtu.be/5Rs8LUvgHeI (8 mins)

3. 2014: “He and His Sons” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Gao Mai - main role (original voice)

“He and His Sons” aka via direct translation “Father and Son on the Road” (2014) (Starring as Gao Mai)

In this drama, Zheng Yecheng played the role of Gao Mai, a high school student who, together with Luo Jianjun, played by Zhang Guoli, formed a "father and son on the road" duo. This was Zheng Yecheng's first time playing an important role that spanned the entire series. Gao Mai, who eagerly hoped for his parents to reconcile, initially harbored hostility towards Luo Jianjun, who suddenly intruded into their lives. Gao Mai misunderstood Luo Jianjun, thinking he reported his father to the authorities, resulting in his father's imprisonment and his marriage to his mother for the sake of property. Gao Mai deeply resented Luo Jianjun.

However, unexpected events occurred within a short period of six months. Gao Mai experienced his mother's terminal illness and death, his father being sentenced to death, the death of a close friend who fell from a building, and his house being deceived by his uncle, among a series of devastating blows that would be difficult for an ordinary person to bear. It was the persistent care and guardianship of his stepfather, Luo Jianjun, and his attentive care that gradually melted away the pain and hatred in Gao Mai's heart. A profound bond gradually formed between the father and son on the road.

Despite being relatively inexperienced, Zheng Yecheng showcased a pleasantly surprising freshness and natural acting style, seamlessly portraying a young boy who was innocent, kind-hearted, sensitive, and rebellious. His performance was three-dimensional and heartfelt, evoking empathy. In his numerous scenes opposite veteran actors Zhang Guoli and Liu Ruoying, the dramatic tension was palpable, whether in intense confrontations or tender and delicate moments. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLykbRqPIkH7_3o-dmFKlh4AdUudSwOJ11 (35 episodes)

4. 2014: “A Legend of Chinese Immortal” drama: Zheng YeCheng as Lan Cai He - support role (dubbed)

Zheng Yecheng portrayed Lan Caihe, with only a few scenes. Although his appearance was somewhat stiff, his beauty was still undeniable. https://youtu.be/Yh8ydrNI64I [can watch full episodes on dramacool, cannot post link here] ep 1-4 on youtube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLykbRqPIkH79z7R5pIFI2H_CB_7PvPt0C

...to be continued

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#정업성 #trinhnghiepthanh #鄭業成 #zhengyecheng #郑业成 #cdrama #chineseactor #aneternalthought #anorientalodyssey #zheng yecheng

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jonathankatwhatever · 1 year

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I was casting about looking for a way to get into what I need to say when I began to think about Spielberg. I don’t remember why his films came up. I was able to focus on two examples of what I don’t like in his films. One is in Close Encounters when the out-of-shape, middle-aged people are escaping the military base and there’s a shot of a soldier almost directly behind, pointing like in a comic book illustration, ‘There they are!’, then a a cut to the out-of-shape, middle-aged people running up the side of a mountain at altitude with a pile of soldiers about a quarter mile behind. That’s absurd. It’s not physically possible.

Another is in Pvt Ryan when, in the midst of battle, we see a group of American soldiers climbing on and banging on a German armored car. They are then killed. We’ve never seen these soldiers before and we’ve seen everyone in the unit as they’ve gone on their odyssey across Normandy. And what group of soldiers, who have been in combat, would ever climb on an armored car like that? They are trying not to get killed, but the movie treats them as objects who are shifted into place because what ….?

And that’s when I realized that is exactly what most people want, not consistency at the tObject level, but consistency at the Thing level. So what happens here is we bypass the physical rules and simply insert material that would not otherwise reduce to tObjects, meaning not actual things and thus not what would appear on screen. We’ve gone over this a million times over the years, haven’t we? The way I knew you really got it was not the kitchen but the car approaching: that angle really the entire capture creates a Triangular between your character and the character entering the space where you tell your tales.

And, yes, I see a lot in Fellini, but you know the scene that sticks in my brain is Nosferatu rising at the camera, rigid, arm out-stretched, from his coffin, embodying the propulsion, the energy of that which never dies because it feeds off the lives of others, cutting yours, adding that to its own, a version of the ancient God which not only requires sacrifice but sacrifice of what you hold dear, which renders in the Torah as the first-born or choice of animals, but which also then renders to humans as animals and thus the God that demands blood.

Anyway, way off track but I love thinking through melodies. Thoughts and melodies are the same. You don’t write a melody: you think it.

So, people love these glitches. Did I get that correct? They truly love the glitches because it’s exciting to have a chase, and part of the enjoyment of watching a show comes as you surrender to the experience. Like you know Pat Sajak is going to be the gentlest, most convivial host on Wheel of Fortune. He’s extremely skilled at it, the best I’ve ever seen, along with Alex Trebek. That was the real genius of Merv Griffin: he could cast. I remember him saying Vanna walked in the first day of auditions and he knew instantly. It’s been 40 years. Those casting decisions are possibly the two best in entertainment financial history: look at how much those shows have generated and how much they’re worth, especially now that they’ve shown you can replace these guys when you must. It can be done.

BTW, it’s 31 Jan 2023.

I had a rough morning. Had a cloud over my head. Thought about you, and got into the space but the thoughts wouldn’t settle. I’d catch glimpses, like reading technical questions and seeing that the answers not only made sense, but in some cases I was thinking past them. I’ve isolated the math learning issue to the concept of glyph, which is a glitch, as you know. That is, there is a bunch of learning in a symbolic expression, and thus you can either take the expression apart and translate it or you can look it, and process the meaning you’ve learned that associates with that expression. It’s the same idea I saw in Chinese education as Jordan described it to me: that doing will teach understanding, so repetition of the glyph tells you what it does, which is exactly how Chinese characters work. I don’t know many Westerners who understand that embedded in Chinese language and thus Chinese thinking is that characters are constructed ideas, that a character thus carries with it a context, and that a context has within it certain states but also the processes which link those states. So inside the language itself is a commitment to the process which, for example, makes a home. To compare, look at the word home. It doesn’t look anything like a shelter which you literally draw in your mind and with your hand when you write home.

I noticed a connection deep back in childhood relating to internal compression and contraction of the bladder assemblage. The link is that I noticed that as I master contraction while peeing, the process of putting on socks, etc., while standing suddenly felt like it did when I was 8. I don’t mean the feeling ended after 8, but that I can hold an image of that experience from around that age. I can date it to Roeper, and before 4th grade. My 3rd grade memories are mixed up because we had 3 teachers and I didn’t enjoy that. Seriously, having Susie’s mom as teacher made social interactions weird, and I didn’t like the last one. So all year long I was reminded of Miss Fleet, who I only knew for 3 days before she died. She was my ideal teacher, so warm and encouraging and interested in our learning.

Then I noticed while in the shower that my left groin has no pain. For the last few weeks, I’ve been pushing extensions and stresses into that area, though it scares me because that was the bad hernia side and that is where I pinched that nerve, and that was perhaps the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced, which means it hurt a heck of a lot. I relaxed myself through the fears, concentrated on getting into left-handed positions. There were a number of scary moments, but I trust the process. And now, more functionality, less pain.

So there are these glitches in Spielberg movies. They tend to drive me nuts, but they’re the way in which he constructs an artificial space in which he can make people feel exciting chase, drama where you know when you see those soldiers that something will happen to them, story that includes predictable clichés. In Close Encounters, if they’d had the chase unfold more logically, like they’re spotted from below after they get away, then you’d expect a less syrupy ending than all the missing people from UFO’s walking out.

My perspective on Martin McDonagh, btw, is that his plays reached near-Greek levels throught the specificity of their self-destructive urges. His movies don’t and the play about hangmen was like a movie. Is it the medium? I bring this up because he’s able to render a concrete mess. He’s in some ways like a violent version of Harold Pinter, who could make remoteness feel concrete. The rendering of those characters is the line of iObjects becoming tObjects as you see them, as they enact on stage or on film. So concrete can be like Italian realism or it can be lines between characters spoken in an artificial Mamet world. Movies want endings that don’t end. Does that makes sense? When you see or imagine characters on stage, the play ends and the actors typically come out and take a bow. When a movie ends, you don’t have that closure in which the characters switch off and the people switch on. Much of the rise of celebrity culture seems to rest on that notion, that these are characters which ‘switch on’. I like to think of Jesus coming on a talk show with the actor who plays Jesus in a movie, and all the questions are for the actor because we can identify more easily with one who plays Jesus than with actual Jesus.

Need a break. Need to do some math here.

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first-impressions-gaming · 1 year

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GAMING RECAP (16-17 JANUARY)

BLACK MYTH: WUKONG DELAYED TO SPRING 2024

Chinese developer Game Science has dropped a new promotional video for the highly anticipated and long-gestating Black Myth: Wukong.

The video is a short film celebrating the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Rabbit, showing an adorable stop-motion bunny excitedly unwrapping a copy of the game before quickly realising they need to purchase a new “NoForce PTX” graphics card to run it. Of course, another twist arrives after the upgrade is done – the game’s not ready for release just yet!

Continue reading more here

ASSASSIN’S CREED MIRAGE IS SET TO BE A SMALL-SCALE GAME

Assassin's Creed Mirage, set to release some time this year, promises to be smaller than the last few games, and fans of the series are the ones to thank for it.

Revealed in September last year (after a series of leaks), Assassin's Creed Mirage was a welcome announcement among fans of the series. The last few iterations like Valhalla and Odyssey moved the games more towards the RPG genre rather than the stealth-focused gameplay the first game brought to the table. But Mirage is going to the series roots, and according to a recent interview from GamesRadar with Ubisoft creative director Stéphane Boudon, part of the reasoning behind scaling down is thanks to the fans.

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THE CALLISTO PROTOCOL MISSES SALES TARGET

Striking Distance Studios' debut game, The Callisto Protocol, has reportedly failed to hit its sales targets, forcing Krafton's investors to "lower their target stock prices".

That's according to a translated article from Korean site MK Odyssey, which says the action horror - which cost 200 billion won (£132m / $161.5m) to make over three years - has affected parent company Krafton's value "due to sales shortages".

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KOTAKU INTERVIEWED BEN BRODE, MARVEL SNAP’S CREATOR

Marvel Snap is just shy of three months old, and it’s fair to say it’s been a success. While the exact number of users hasn’t been shared, Google Play reports over five million downloads, even before you include iOS numbers. And with such popularity comes great scrutiny. Why are the store prices so astonishingly high? Why does it demote everyone 30 levels every four weeks? Why won’t they just get rid of Leech because it ruins my deck? So rather than wondering, we put these exact questions to Marvel Snap’s project lead and Hearthstone’s former lead designer, Ben Brode.

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FORZA HORIZON CREATORS AND LEADS RESIGN TO ESTABLISH BRAND NEW STUDIO

Six Playground Games employees, including the creative director of 2021's Forza Horizon 5, have left the studio to form their own.

This new studio is called Maverick Games and the team there is already working on a new "premium open-world game for consoles and PC," according to a Eurogamer report. This studio is not connected to Microsoft's Xbox umbrella of studios.

Forza Horizon 5's creative director, Mike Brown, is leading Maverick and is joined by Playground's former lead producer Tom Butcher, who is the new studio's executive producer, former technical director Matt Craven, who is Maverick's chief technical officer, and former technical art director Gareth Harwood, who is now content director. Harwood is joined in that position by Fraser Stachan, a former Playground audio director, and Ben Penrose, a former art director at Playground.

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A NEW TRAILER FROM WO LONG: FALLEN DYNASTY RELEASED

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LIES OF P SHOWS OFF ITS GRITTY COMBAT IN A NEW TRAILER

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LEAKED SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE SCREENSHOT CONFIRMS THE GAME HAS BATTLE PASS

A leaked screenshot which is currently doing the rounds on various social media sites and has been verified by VGC, shows what appears to be a player gearing up for a mission in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, with various characters shown on screen. However, people online have been quick to point out the multiple currencies and the 'Battle Pass' menu at the top of the screen and are worried about how deep the live service elements will run in the game.

Forced live service elements and microtransactions killed The Avengers early in its lifetime and same fate can befall on Suicide Squad as well.

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UNION CALLS UBISOFT PARIS TO STRIKE FOLLOWING CEO’S QUESTIONABLE SPEECH

French trade union Solidaires Informatique has called on Ubisoft Paris workers to strike after the company delivered a “worrying” strategic update.

Last week Ubisoft said it had delayed Skull and Bones, cancelled three unannounced games, and planned to strengthen its focus on its biggest brands and live services following weaker than expected software sales over the holiday season.

It also announced plans to make some €200 million in cost cuts over the next two years “through targeted restructuring, divesting some non-core assets and usual natural attrition”.

And in an email sent to employees coinciding with the announcements, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot reportedly told staff the onus is on them to deliver on its latest targets and reverse the company’s fortunes.

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NPD: US game spending dipped 5% to $57bn in 2022

According to tracking firm NPD's latest report, US games sales in 2022 totaled $57 billion; the figure represents a 5% decline compared to 2021, which amassed $60 billion.

Software comprised most of the year's revenue (84%), with game content spending reaching $47.5 billion in 2022.

Software sales decreased by 7% compared to 2021, including digital games, DLC, and subscriptions across consoles, cloud, mobile, portable, PC, and VR hardware.

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#games #gaming #indie games #youtube #Youtube

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dycefic · 3 years

Note

Hello, I recently read some of your work and I really really like your writing style! I’ve loved everything I’ve read so far and if it is not a burden to you and you are okay with doing so, I was hoping you could answer a few questions?

I was wondering if you had any formal writing education? Any advice for writing? Also wondered what kinds of books and authors you read, if you read?

I am sorry for all the questions, and if they’ve been asked before (I tried to find any answers you may have given to these or ones similar and I’m sorry if I missed them but direct me if need be).

I am also a writer and I’m always very curious about writers I look up to/ really like- most of them just happen to not be among the living so I do t really get to ask them any questions. Thank you for your time! It’s a pleasure to be able to read your writing!!

Thank you!

I am blushing extensively, thank you for all your kind words!

As for writing, I have had no formal education in it. I tried - and might not have dropped out of university if I'd succeeded - but creative writing required higher general scores than I got in school. I've read a lot of books on writing... like, a LOT... and always taken an interest in plot structure. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who walked out of House Of Flying Daggers (I saw it in theatres, I'm that old) rhapsodizing about the way they visually represented traditional storytelling metaphors (ie 'a rain of spears').

I will note that while it seems that absolutely everyone recommends Stephen King's 'On Writing', I've never read it because a) I found the little bit I read wordy and self-indulgent, and b) the very mention of that man's name enrages me because my partner once got into a serious hyperfixation and we didn't have a single conversation in which King's name was not mentioned for OVER A YEAR. This is not King's fault, but the name still fills me with intense fury.

Books on writing I would recommend:

K. M. Weiland's 'Structuring Your Novel': I like her 'voice', and her chosen examples, and pacing longer stories is one of the things I have the most trouble with.

J. Michael Straczynski's 'Complete Book Of Scriptwriting': It's an old book now, but it's still one of the best I've ever read, and my long-standing favourite. There's a ton of fascinating history about the evolution of screenwriting, and a lot of very pithy advice that applies just as well to novels and short fiction as it does to movies and television.

Chris Baty's 'No Plot? No Problem!': I haven't reread this in quite a while, but I remember it as being really helpful as well as fun to read. I also recommend NaNoWriMo in general. I've been participating since 2002 - this year will be my twentieth anniversary of NaNo - and my writing has improved enormously in that time. Writing is like everything else, insofar as the more you practice, the better you get. I've hit 50K every year since the beginning, so even if I never got a novel I wanted to finish, polish, and put out there (and a couple of them are promising), that's still 950,000 words I've written.

Also? Fanfiction. Fanfiction is a GREAT way to practice the craft. Because the characters and universe are pre-built, you can focus on the writing itself, on things like examining nuances of character, identifying and using tropes, and building a compelling story. Between NaNo and fanfiction, over the last 24 years, I have written over 2,000,000 words, and you can't do ANYTHING two million times without getting better at it.

As for who I like to read, I can't recommend Diane Duane, Tamora Pierce, and Georgette Heyer too highly. Not only do they write good stories, they were/are very, very technically skilled. Reading their work is an education in itself. I also recommend consuming narratives from other cultures - I learned a lot about different narrative conventions from things like reading translated novels, myths, and fairy tales, reading manga, and watching Chinese and Korean movies and dramas. It really gives you a different perspective on the mechanics of storytelling, and shows you how many 'default' or 'obvious' plot tropes are actually really culturally specific. (I have consumed every re-telling, re-imagining, or re-translation of Journey To The West, including the old tv show AND the Hallmark movie. I really recommend this, as it is FASCINATING how many ways different people interpret the same story. The Korean 'Korean Odyssey' and Netflix's 'New Adventures Of Monkey' are my favourites)

Bonus reading: When Books Went To War, by Molly Guptil Manning. It's not about writing, but it's about why stories are important, the lifeline a novelist can throw to someone experiencing the darkest of times, and what I believe may have been publishing's finest hour. I cry every time I read it, and it makes me proud to count myself a writer. If you ever wonder why you're slogging away so hard at learning so fickle and difficult a craft, this book will remind you.

“The therapeutic effect of reading was not a new concept to the librarians running the VBC (Victory Book Campaign). In the editorial Warren published on the eve of commencing her tenure as director, she discussed how books could soothe pain, diminish boredom or loneliness, and take the mind on a vacation far from where the body was stationed. Whatever a man's need—a temporary escape, a comforting memory of home, balm for a broken spirit, or an infusion of courage—the librarians running the VBC were dedicated to ensuring that each man found a book to meet it.” ― Molly Guptill Manning, When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II

#writing

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beardycarrot · 2 years

Text

Nintendo Direct tonight. We’re finally, finally getting getting a title and release date for the sequel to Breath of the Wild. My money’s on fall, but before the holidays... Maybe as early as September? Still considering Reach Through the Ages to be the perfect title until we get more details proving there isn’t time travel. Which we won’t because THERE WILL TOTALLY BE TIME TRAVEL.

There’s a chance we’ll also see the next mainline Pokemon game... but considering Pokemon Day is just a few weeks away, I’m betting we’ll get a proper Pokemon Direct at the end of the month. Either way, I feel like we can expect some DLC courses to be announced for New Pokemon Snap pretty soon. Possibly Hisui-centric?

METROID PRIME 4 BAYBEE. It’s time. I can feel it. It’s been so long since the game was announced, so long even since they scrapped what they had and restarted production at Retro, and Metroid Dread made a huge splash. Now is the time to show off the game, and I am BEYOND excited. What will the game feature? No idea! Maybe it’ll be like Prime 3 with the ability to travel between planets whenever you want, and also allow you to stop be Samus’ Space Condo to just chill out for a while. Maybe, despite being a Prime game, it won’t be in the same time period as the others, and will also be post-Fusion. Maybe! You’ll actually be able to take on bounties! And actually work as a bounty hunter! I’d like that.

There have also been a lot of rumors of a Metroid Prime remake... that would be cool, but the original game still looks and controls great, and I can play it on my Gamecube or Wii U. It would be interesting if Nintendo decided to add Gamecube games to NSO, and alongside the Prime remake they also launched the original version on the service, but I dunno, that seems unlikely.

Is it finally time for Mario Kart 9? Have MK8′s sales slowed enough to convince Nintendo to move on?

...Nope!

It is time for a remake of the original Golden Sun, though. With as disastrous as Golden Sun: Dark Dawn was (I mean, that was genuinely a bad way to continue the series), they’re unlikely to do a follow-up on its cliffhanger ending without first establishing that it’s something people want. To test the waters... remake the old games that people actually like! Makes sense to me, anyway.

Luigi’s Mansion 3 was another big hit, so they’re definitely working on the next game in that series. Maybe we’ll see it at E3?

Also at E3, we should see an in-depth look at Super Mario Odyssey 2... with our first peek coming today! Yep, calling it. It’ll be just a small taste, the thing they end the show with, but we’re going to see Luigi with a bowler cap ghost, and Peach is going to be playable, and uhh... Bowser and Tatanga kidnap Daisy? Yeah. And we’ll see Delfino Isle, and the Chai Kingdom from Super Mario Land, which will be re-imagined as a monochromatic Chinese horror-themed level. Also Mario will have a Link costume. Oh, and a Subcon level. Snakes and vases. And a Yoshi’s Island level. Man, this game is gonna have a lot of kingdoms, if four of them are pulled from older games.

Mario + Rabbids is a thing we’ll see. I guess. Rabbid Waluigi is going to be horrifying.

Know what? Ring Fit Adventure 2. Sure, why not. Nintendo usually announces things that involve proprietary hardware outside of Directs, but I’m going wild with speculation, so WHY NOT. Ring Fit sold over eleven million copies before seeing a price drop for the holidays last year, making Nintendo nearly a billion dollars, so they’re definitely going to be looking to do it again.

Haven’t heard anything about Fire Emblem for a while. Probably getting a new Fire Emblem at some point.

Untitled Goose Game sequel?

SPLATOON 3! I... don’t actually know what they could show off, other than some minor new mechanics and a release date. I’m still holding out hope that the desert area the game’s campaign seems to take place in is open-world to some extent, but I’m not entirely sure how that would work out.

We’re long, long overdue for Pikmin 4... and hey, I wouldn’t turn my nose up at an Arms 2. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was supposedly meant to be shown last year but was pushed back, so we could see that... I really need to play Xenoblade 2, I received it as a gift a couple years ago and haven’t gotten around to it.

Dragon Quest.

Will a new Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest XII, be announced in a Nintendo Direct? Absolutely not. However, we could see a Dragon Quest Builders 3, enhanced ports of the 3DS remakes, and ports/remakes of the Slime Mori Mori games. Which I desperately want, because only the second game in the series came out here, and I never got to play the others.

So. There’s my list of demands. Now we just have to wait six hours for all my hopes and dreams to be smashed to bits by the cold hand of reality.

Except for BotW2. Gettin’ that title and release date today, and I am PUMPED!

#nintendo #nintendo direct #botw2

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fyzitao · 7 years

Video

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A Chinese Odyssey: Love you a million years - Trailer

#tao #v: trailer #170726 #a chinese odyssey #a chinese odyssey: love you a million years

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mostlysignssomeportents · 3 years

Text

ADT insider threat

Self-control isn't merely a matter of eliminating your own weaknesses. Self control is primarily about compensating for those weaknesses. When you go on a diet, you don't just commit yourself to eating well - you also throw away the Oreos so you won't be tempted.

This manoeuvre has a name: a Ulysses Pact, named for the passage in the Odyssey in which Ulysses pilots his ship through the sirens' sea, eschewing wax-stoppered ears so that he could hear their song, protecting himself by lashing himself to the mast.

Ulysses knew he would face a moment of weakness in the future, so he used his strength in the moment to guard against his future self.

Tech was built on a Ulysses Pact: the irrevocable free software license: once a hacker applies the GPL, they can't unchoose it.

No pressure from investors, not even the risk of bankruptcy or physical coercion can remove a free software license once it has been applied.

A Ulysses Pact is an act of humility, an admission of frailty. Alas, humility is in short supply in tech (the GPL is an exception).

Far more common is to build systems that can be abused, and assume that you - and your successors, collaborators, and underlings - will never yield to temptation.

Think of when the W3C incorporated DRM into browser standards, sure that none of its members would use this to exclude future rivals, only to be proven wrong a mere three years later, when Google blocked all free/open entrants into the field.

https://memex.craphound.com/2020/01/08/three-years-after-the-w3c-approved-a-drm-standard-its-no-longer-possible-to-make-a-functional-indie-browser/

Or when Apple arrogated to itself the power to decide which software you can run on your phones and tablets, only to have the Chinese state order it to block working privacy tools to facilitate a system of violent, totalitarian control.

https://locusmag.com/2021/01/cory-doctorow-neofeudalism-and-the-digital-manor/

As Pavel Chekov counselled us all those years ago on the Desliu lot, a phaser on the bulkhead in act one will go off by act three.

Back in 2015, we bought - and then returned - a Canary security camera. We'd just immigrated to the US and were feeling a little nervous.

I was suspicious of this gadget. Though I wasn't technically capable of auditing its software, I WAS able to read its privacy policy, in which they promised not to share footage from your home unless ordered to do so.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/09/canary-debuts-flex-cam-suited-for-your-living-room-and-your-lawn/?comments=1&post=31916515

I suspected that meant that Canary didn't employ end-to-end encryption, meaning that company insiders could peek at that footage, and the only thing preventing such peeking was policy and integrity, not that such a thing was impossible.

I wrote to the company and they confirmed that this was so, explaining that having access to cleartext video streams helped them use ML models that could distinguish between intruders and pets, and promising that they carefully vetted people with access to the footage.

So far as I know, Canary hasn't had such a breach...yet. But ADT - an industry leader whose major investor is Google - did. An ADT technician named Telesforo Aviles admitted to spying on at least 200 ADT customers.

https://gizmodo.com/a-home-security-worker-hacked-into-surveillance-systems-1846111569

Aviles wanted to spy on attractive women in order to see them in naked and having sex. ADT's system was designed to allow this; the primary means by which it was prevented was vetting staff - a process that is obviously too imperfect to trust in a high-stakes environment.

When ADT discovered this was happening, they tried to cover it up, offering laughable cash payments to survivors of Aviles's spying in exchange for confidentiality.

https://nypost.com/2020/05/19/adt-worker-accused-of-using-app-to-spy-on-people-for-7-years/

Doubtless certain technical aspects of the administration of ADT's security system were made simpler by choosing to create a system that was vulnerable to insider attacks. But by making this tradeoff, ADT demonstrated its unfitness to be in this market.

Maturity, after all, isn't about resisting temptation - it's about recognizing your own fallibility and taking measures to limit it. Exposing millions of customers to insider attacks on the obviously false belief that you will never hire the wrong person is unforgivable.

#pluralistic

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the-monkey-ruler · 5 months

Note

Do you know what other Chinese media have the Six-Eared Macaque and the Macaque King as the same being?

I only know that the Lego Monkie Kid has this take like officially. Like it is far more popular to have the Six Ears as Wukong's brother, adopted or sworn, but they are never given the title 'King', and in fact a lot of movie plots are were the Six Ears is mad that he isn't the king and wants to take over wukong's life. The jealous brother trope. Let me make an updated list of Macaque in media that I am aware of!

1928 True and False Sun Xingzhe 真假孙行者 - evil self

1950 How Nazha Thrice Tricked the Six-eared Monkey 哪宅三戲六耳猴 - some guy

1952 Journey to the West 西遊記 - evil self

1983 Real and Fake Monkey King 真假美猴王 - evil self

1986 Journey to West 西游记 - evil self

1996 Journey to the West 西遊記 - adopted brother

1999 Legends of the Monkey King 西游记 - evil self

2009 Monkey King 美猴王 - sworn brother but not a king

2010 Journey to the West 西遊記 - evil self

2011 Journey to the West 西遊記 - evil self

2015 Journey to the West: True and False Exchange - 西游之偷梁换柱 - evil self

2015 The Grow 2 金箍棒传奇2：沙僧的逆袭 - some guy

2016 A Chinese Odyssey Part Three 大话西游3 - some guy

2017 Journey to the West The Legend of the Merman 西游鲛人传 - some guy.

2017 A Chinese Odyssey: Million Years 大话西游之爱你一万年 - some guy

2017 Winning Buddha 斗战胜佛 - evil self

2018 The New Legends of Monkey - evil clone

2019 The Monkey King: The True Sun Wukong 美猴王之真假孙悟空 - adopted brother.

2020 The Real vs. Fake Monkey King 真假美猴王之大圣无双 - some guy

2020 Monkey King 大圣 - evil clone

2020 Lego Monkie Kid 乐高悟空小侠 - Macaque King

2020 Golden-Banded Staff 降妖伏魔之定海神针 - some guy

2021 Monkey King: The One and Only 大圣无双 - evil clone

2021 Six-Eared Monkey 六耳猕猴 - clan members? adopted dad?

2021 Marvel Monkey 六耳猕猴之妖王重生 - some guy

2021 The Legend of Flower Fruit Mountain 花果山传 - twin brother

2022 Journey to the West: True and False Monkey King 西游记之真假美猴王 - adopted brother? Maybe sworn but not a king?

2022 King of Confusion: The Rise of the Great Sage / Four Monkeys in Confusion 混世之王：混世四猴 /混世之王之大圣崛起 - clan member?

2022 Dislyte - twin brother

2022 Wukong Returns (2022) - evil self

2023 The Legends of Monkey King 凌云志 - some guy

2023 I’m Not a Great Sage 我不是大圣 - some guy

2024 The Monkey King: True and False Monkey King 齐天大圣之真假美猴王 - adopted brother? Maybe sworn but not a king?

2030 True and False Monkey King / Dare to Ask the Way: Apprentice Chapter 西游记真假美猴王 - some guy

Evil Self - 10 (Just Wukong but Evil) Evil Clone - 3 (Created by an outside force) Some Guy - 11 (Just villain, no previous connection) Adopted/Twin Brother/Clan Member - 6~8 (Family connection) Sworn Brother - 1~3 (Friends) Macaque King - 1 (Literally says that they are the Macaque King)

I see a lot more fan content per say that has the Six Ears also have the role of the Macaque King so is it more on a low-key scale where you see the theory really being popular. It is a really fun theory and has a lot of people that enjoy it, but narrative-wise it wouldn't fit in a casual Xiyouji tv show/movie without making major changes. Most mainstream or individual projects have it that Wukong is facing his literal brother/family member, or that he is just facing SOME GUY that he has never met before. Or that it is his evil clone or physical embodiment of his violent thoughts which is what a lot of the older movies do since that aligns with the book's symbolism and narrative meaning of the story.

#anon ask #anonymous #anon #jttw #journey to the west #sun wukong #xiyouji #ask #six eared macaque #the macaque king #female macaque king #spiritual macaque king #liu er mihou #liuer mihou

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mrepstein · 4 years

Photo

The Beatles pose with Maureen Donaldson (née Payne) [pictured left] and Val Sumpter at the Beatles Fan Club headquarters, circa 1963.

In 1989 Maureen published a memoir, An Affair to Remember, about her four-year relationship with Cary Grant. In the memoir she briefly mentions her time working in the Beatles Fan Club offices, and later for Brian Epstein’s NEMS Enterprises. You can read her account below:

Like millions of girls around the world, I had discovered the Beatles in 1963. I liked them all, but Paul McCartney was my favorite. His long lashes and sexy chestnut eyes stirred something within me that no real-life boy could hope to ignite.

The more I saw Paul on television and the more I saw his picture in the magazines, the more determined I was to meet him. I was convinced that once he met me, he would see I was unlike all the other girls who adored him. And he would marry me.

But turning that fantasy into reality was going to take some work. It took one bus and two train rides just to get me to the North End Music Stores (NEMS) offices in London. That was the company owned and operated by Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles. Every day after school I’d embark on this long trip and arrive on the NEMS doorsteps. I asked anyone there for any kind of job. I wasn’t proud. Just so I could be close to Paul.

The girls in the front office took pity on me and let me stuff envelopes and do other assorted tasks. There was no pay, but I felt useful and somehow connected to Paul. I just knew I would meet him if I kept pushing in this direction.

My determination finally caught Brian’s eye. He gave me a job for about eighteen dollars a week at the Beatles Fan Club offices. I would answer the telephones and also help out sorting through the mail, which contained thousands of jelly beans, supposedly the boys’ favorite.

When I went home to share the good news with my parents, I didn’t quite get the reaction I had anticipated. I informed them (as well as a visiting neighbor, Elsie Grunsell) that I was leaving school at age sixteen to begin work the following Monday for the Beatles. The three of them had been sitting there enjoying their tea when I unleashed this particular bombshell. Rising slowly, my father stood ramrod straight and said firmly:

“You’re not going to work - I repeat not - for those... those yobos!”

I started crying. I had to take that job because that was my only route to Paul. When my parents saw how determined I was and what it meant to me, they relented. Years later they told me they hoped I would come to my senses and get bored with life with the Beatles. Actually, it was the beginning of an odyssey that would take me all the way to America.

I began work at the fan-club office on a Monday. Four days later I met Paul in the flesh. He had dropped by to take all us hardworking girls to a Chinese lunch. I was so awestruck being in the same room with Paul I simply couldn’t eat. I just picked at my plate. Besides, I didn’t know how to eat with chopsticks.

Instead I feasted on the sight of Paul, who actually had a bit of a shy streak. But when he kept talking about Jane this and Jane that, I poked one of my coworkers in the arm and said: “Who is this Jane?”

I was told all about Jane Asher, a pretty red-haired actress who was Paul’s steady. I was crestfallen at first. But I was too busy for disappointment. London in the early sixties seemed to be the center of the universe, and I was now part of it. Mary Quant was revolutionising fashion on Carnaby Street; the Beatles and the scruffier Rolling Stones were changing the sound of rock music; and a stick-thin fashion model named Twiggy was making thin “in.” Fortunately I had begun to lose all my baby fat and got swept up in the excitement and intensity of all the changes London was going through.

I had been at my new post in the fan-club offices for about three months when I answered the phone one day. It was Brian. “Who’s this?” he asked. “This is Maureen Payne,” I said shyly. “Well, I’d very much like to see you in my office tomorrow at ten o’clock.”

“Me?” I said, simply astounded.

“Yes, You!” he barked from the receiver. “I’ve got a job for you.”

It turned out Brian liked the sound of my voice and wanted me back at the NEMS offices, where there was an opening for a receptionist. There was not only a raise of approximately fifteen dollars a week but also the opportunity of assisting Brian in the press office with its blizzard of press releases and bulletins released almost daily to the media.

Brian was a mercurial man - one minute up, the next down. But he was always buzzing about the place like a hornet, trying to find some new way to keep the press interested in “the boys.” Then one day I helped to oil the publicity machine in my unique way.

Sometimes the girls and I in the NEMS offices would get restless, so we conducted elevator races. There was a rickety old elevator in dire need of repair; we would cram into it and push the buttons like crazy. It would take forever for the contraption to reach the next floor, but we didn’t care - we’d be laughing and screaming so hysterically we would hardly notice. Of course, this all happened when Brian was out of the office.

But one day some of Brian’s other clients - including Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, and another group called the Fourmost - dropped by, and we were especially bored. It was raining outside, one of those dark days that needed a little juicing up. So we girls invited the boys to get into the elevator with us. We wanted to see how many of us the silly thing could hold without expiring.

The answer: not many. About eight of us had gotten in when the elevator crashed. It fell down only a few feet, but a fire truck had to be called and firemen sent in to retrieve us. Since this occurred at the Beatles offices, it showed up on the evening news.

So there we were, being pulled out of the lift by the firemen and escorted in the pouring rain into a truck waiting to take us to the hospital to be checked for any possible injuries. Only our pride had been hurt. We were horribly embarrassed later, when the boys took special delight in telling us that the firemen had huge grins on their faces as they “rescued” us, because they could see up our miniskirts!

The next day Brian called us into his office and threatened to dock our pay because of the incident. He was just bluffing, though, we heard him laughing the minute we left his office.

- An Affair To Remember: My Life With Cary Grant by Maureen Donaldson and William Royce (1989)

#The Beatles #Maureen Donaldson #Maureen Payne #Val Sumpter

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tobiasbotte · 4 years

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Okay, I've got a weird itch, and I'm wondering if my dear netizens can help me scratch it. This is a fic rec request post. Also kind of a praise post? Skip to the end to see the request, because I go off on a bit of a tangent.

I've been…really getting into The Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi fanfics lately? Like, seriously, been doing a deep dive every since I finished the live action drama because holy shit that was something beautiful. And I gotta say, my favorite kinds of fics right now in this fandom are the full blown, novel length, ensemble cast ones. You know, the ones where all the right ones live, or even our favorite bad guys get redemption arcs, and almost everyone is paired off by the end. I'm a sucker for that shit. It's beautiful.

This does not negate the fact that the show (I'm working up the courage to read the actual novel that started this all - I've started, now I just need to take the plunge) is beautiful in its own right. I adore that WWX and LWJ got their happy ending. I also adore these fics.

I digress.

When I first dove into the fandom, I loved LWJ/WWX & LSZ interactions as a family. Then I fell down the WWX & JC reconciliation hell hole and I have not climbed back out, nor do I wish to! It’s amazing. But now, I've noticed that the fics that have Meng Yao|Gin Guangyao as the fulcrum are the most fascinating. Everything revolves around him, most of the time, and while I adore WWX as my favorite tortured soul and his epic pining romance with LWJ and his family dynamic with LSZ and JC, these giant fics with JGY at the center are like. Epic odysseys. It's amazing.

And, you know, off topic of this post - which is supposed to be a cry for recs, please help - it really makes me want to write one, but first off, I know next to nothing about wuxia/xianxia style stories (though with the amount of media I've been consuming, and the cultural rabbit holes I've fallen down in on Google this past month alone, I daresay I could definitely make a good run at it), and second, just the whole psychological aspect of it for all of those characters - I pride myself on being able to read a room, especially with what I do for a living, but holy shit do these fics do a deep dive.

By the way, I speak of two specific fic authors who write the most epic JGY-fulcrum fics that I've seen so far: @mercyandmagic and @hamliet. If either of you guys see this, my respect to you as writers is through the roof. Seriously, it's mind boggling. The dissection of JGY's character, his desire for acceptance, his desperate will to live no matter what - it's beautiful. Not to mention the viewpoints of literally every other character in their fics?! And the head-hopping is amazing - not something I usually see. (Apparently this is common in Chinese fic writing, or so I’ve read somewhere? But it’s not disconcerting at all, at least not how these two do it. I kind of want to try that style...)

Lord, I don't even remember where I'm going with this. If any of my readers follow me on here, you know I'm mostly a Yu Yu Hakusho writer (let's forget the other secret account I had back in high school; I burned that, I believe). I write novella length stuff at best (of fan fiction. My original works are…massive, to say the least, which I'm proud of.). But I've never been in a fandom (and I'm in a lot of fandoms; my bookmark count on AO3 can attest to that holy shit I have a problem) that has produced such epic works that it has moved me to sway from my usual fic writing habits of safety, of topics that I'm familiar with. Seriously, I "know" wuxia/xianxia stuff now (I've been going back to my nerd roots lately and tearing through K- and C-dramas - with my mother, no less! - and absorbing a lot of cool shit. It's so fun.), but I don't know it, you know what I mean? I can explain to my mother the significance of joss sticks, paper money being burned for the dead, wedding red and mourning white, the wedding games people have to play to retrieve their spouses, cultivation culture, etc., but I'd never try to write about it because - let's face it! I'm scared. Which is funny. I'm not Japanese (I’m black/Filipino/white), but I actually grew up being fascinated by the culture thanks to my dad - our family's original weeb - and so I'm not too terrified to write fics about animes because, you know, I'm kind of familiar with it.

Chinese-based fics though? Alien to me. And it's not that I'm scared of offending anyone - I'm glad that the majority of fan culture that I have personally interacted with is nice. It's a shame that a lot of the nasty stuff gets the spotlight, gives fandom culture a bad rep, but I know that most of you guys - I'm speak of you readers/writers - are chill people who wanna vibe with the fandoms in peace.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this. I guess I'm just making excuses to not write MDZS fics by claiming that I don't want to contribute because I don't want to do the genre its in any injustice. The real reason I don't want to write it is because I don't think I'd be able to have a good grasp on the mental aspect of any of the characters! Weird. Writing fanfiction has never scared me before. I know it's because I'm comparing myself to these other awesome writers, not just the two I've listed, but all the writers of the amazing MDZS fics I've been reading, but who doesn’t compare themselves to someone else? It’s destructive. At least I’m aware of what I’m doing-

Holy shit this post is long I need to stop what was the point.

The point...

The point was - a request! So far, those are the only two writers I've come across who do those epic ensemble/fulcrum/happy ending for all/everyone is paired off fics in this fandom. Obviously I've barely made a dent in all the material that's out there, but I figured I'd save myself some time and ask if anyone in the MDZS fandom could recommend any other fics that do this.

Bonus points if it includes Qin Su/Wen Ning or Su She/Jin Zixun (like, seriously, I would have never in a million years expected to have liked the latter pairing, but when I've seen it logically laid out on how to rectify them, it fucking works?!). If not that, then my second favorite type of fics are the WWX & JC brotherly reconciliation fics with lots of gross sobbing. I adore the relationship between these two and I just want them to be a family again, please. There's a lot more of these works than the former, and I'm slowly working my way through them, but if you find some that I should absolutely read right now, lemme know.

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mulanxiaojie · 4 years

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Chinese article on their observation of how much more popular Mulan is in the West than in China.

Date: 2018-08-17

How popular is "Mulan" in the eyes of foreigners? More so than in China.

When you mention Hua Mulan, I believe every Chinese person will have an impression that is more or less the same. Even if you were not forced to learn the original ballad, you should have at least heard the story of Mulan taking her father’s place in the army.

But this is a well-known heroine in China. After flying across the sea to the United States and Europe, it immediately became foreign, and it seemed to become more popular than in China. Don't believe me?

Last week, Disney released a new trailer for the latest animation "Ralph Breaks the Internet", along with a group photo of Disney girls:

These are all characters in the "Disney Princess" series. In addition to the characters in the animated movies that we are familiar with in recent years, the girl with black hair and yellow skin on the right is the focus of this image. She is the Mulan designed by Disney animators.

If you want to use the "ranking theory" commonly used by the Chinese people to analyze things, Mulan is sitting firmly in the top three.

To know that compared to the few girls who have been in the public eye in recent years, Mulan's last appearance in Disney's animation has to be traced back to "Mulan 2" in 2004. For Chinese audiences, the 1998 movie "Mulan" is more familiar. This classic animation movie on IMDB scored 7.6, Rotten Tomato freshness was 86%, and it won the Oscar and Golden Globe Awards. Nominated, US $304 million at the global box office.

As the image of Hua Mulan created by Disney is very different from the image of the traditional Mulan military story, it has become a girl who is very in line with the aesthetics of Europeans and Americans. I have to say that she may have become one of the most influential Chinese stories in the hearts of foreigners.

There is strong evidence to prove this argument. Soon after this new Wreck It Ralph image was published, foreign netizens were immediately inspired and enthusiastically created fan art for Mulan.

This is the result of searching for "mulan" on Tumblr. The top pictures are all over 30,000 notes. The creation time was after the image was released by Disney, and the Mulan in each picture was almost all wearing the same modern day casual outfit. The red sports jacket with two dragons printed on the chest.

Let’s look at a few examples:

Yellow skin, black hair, black eyes, red jacket with a dragon pattern, lantern symbolizing Chinese culture, and as for the action...It is a bit like a Jackie Chan action movie. These may be foreigners' first perception of Chinese culture. By the way, this picture is the one with the highest praise for Mulan found on Tumblr.

get off the roof !!! Image source: Sacin @Tumblr

In all these creations, the themes are generally divided into three categories: One is a re-creation of an original Mulan image of two Disney animations, and the other two have nothing to do with the movie, but one reflects "Chinese Kung Fu", and the other reflects everyday life.

Such as:

Image source: jayessart @ Tumblr

This one has a bit of "A Chinese Odyssey" flavor:

Image source: giadin-a @ Tumblr

Generally speaking, most of the fan art are street style, but these have a very thick American flavor, which is far from the usual image of Mulan in our minds, let alone the princess or the army. I thought it was an Asian or foreign student:

Image source: kaleydoskope @ Tumblr

Image source: Cecile @ Twitter

Image source: C A M @ Twitter

If you are tired of this sort, you can also change the style of art:

Image source: hieu @ Twitter

Image source: M.Y@Twitter

Image source: txuun @ Twitter

Do you see anything in common from these fan arts? Converse shoes and sports team jackets are the champions...

Some people may be curious to know what sorcery makes Hua Mulan so popular with foreign audiences. This may be due to many factors.

Objectively speaking, she is part of an Oriental culture, and Chinese Kung Fu naturally attracts them.

Secondly, the story of Hua Mulan's father joining the army fits the consistent Western woman's belief of pursuing independence and equal rights. In this regard, when Disney interpreted this story, they made a lot of changes in order to be more in line with European and American thinking. They abandoned some traditional Chinese cultural meaning, which also made her shift away from her original appearance in Chinese ancient books, but more popular with Western audiences.

In addition, Disney's success in art design is also obvious. This Asian face of Mulan may not be associated with us when we recite "The Ballad of Mulan", but it really caters to the aesthetic taste of Westerners towards East Asian faces. This also provides a good basis for fan creations.

If you have to find some more reasons for the above points, the poster and the fans may just catch up with Liu Yifei in the live-action "Mulan" movie. Regardless of whether we think that Liu Yifei is suitable or inappropriate of the role, from the foreigners' comments and the number of likes or forwarding, we can almost see that most of them think "This is absolutely reliable!"

So, do you now know how popular Mulan is abroad?

Original text:

说到花木兰，相信每个国人心中都会有一个差不太多的形象，即使没被逼着背过《木兰诗》的的，起码也应该听过花木兰代父从军的故事吧。

可就是这样一个在中国家喻户晓的形象，飘扬过海来到欧美之后，立马变得洋气了起来，而且看起来比在国内人气还要高。不信吗？

上周，迪士尼公布了最新动画《无敌破坏王2：大闹互联网》的新预告，一同放出的还有一张迪士尼旗下的姑娘们的合影：

这几位都是“迪士尼公主”系列中的人物。除了那些个我们近些年比较熟悉的动画电影中角色之外，右边这位黑头发黄皮肤的姑娘才是这幅画的重点，她就是迪士尼画师们笔下的花木兰。

如果要用国人常用的“排座次理论”来分析的话，花木兰可是稳坐前三把交椅啊。

要知道相比近些年上过镜的几位姑娘，花木兰上一次在迪士尼的动画里露面还要追溯到2004年的《花木兰2》。而对于中国观众来讲，更熟悉的还是1998年的电影《花木兰》，这部堪称经典的动画电影IMDB评分7.6，烂番茄新鲜度86%，还拿下了当年的奥斯卡和金球奖提名，全球票房3.04亿美元。

虽然迪士尼笔下的花木兰形象，已经与传统的木兰从军故事中的形象大相径庭，变成了一个非常符合欧美人审美的姑娘。不得不说，她可能已经成为了老外心中最有影响力的中国故事之一了。

证明这个论点还有一个有力的证据，就在这张新海报公布不久，国外网友们便立刻被激发出了为花木兰创作同人图的热情。

这是在Tumblr上搜索“mulan”时得到的结果，排名靠前的几张图热度都在3万以上，创作时间都是在迪士尼公布那张海报之后，而且这里面的木兰几乎全穿着海报里那张胸前印有两条龙的红色运动夹克。

挑几张有代表性的看看：

黄皮肤，黑头发，黑眼睛，印有龙图案的红色夹克，象征中国文化的灯笼，至于动作嘛……也有点成龙动作电影里的味道，这些可能都是老外对于中国文化的第一直觉吧。顺嘴说一句，这张图在Tumblr上是搜索到有关木兰点赞最高的一张。

get off the roof!!!（我从屋顶上下来了！！！）图片来源：Sacin @Tumblr

在所有的这些创作中，主题一般分为三类，一类是原版两部迪士尼动画的木兰形象的再创作，另外两类则跟电影没什么关系，其中一种体现了“中国功夫”，一种则是走日常路线。

比如：

图片来源：jayessart@Tumblr

这个动作越看越有点《大话西游》里面至尊宝的味道：

图片来源：giadin-a@Tumblr

日常路线的话，大部分同人图都是街头风，可是这样看起来一股浓浓的美式审美味，跟我们脑中惯常的花木兰形象相差甚远，别说公主或者从军了，猛一看还以为是某个亚裔或者留学生：

图片来源：kaleydoskope@Tumblr

图片来源：Cecile@Twitter

图片来源：C A M@Twitter

看腻了的话，还可以换一种画风：

图片来源：hieu@Twitter

图片来源：M.Y@Twitter

图片来源：txuun@Twitter

从这些画里，你有没有发现什么共同点？匡威鞋和电竞战队夹克恐成最大赢家啊……

看到这里可能会有人比较好奇，花木兰这个形象究竟有何种魔力能够这么受国外观众们欢迎呢？这其中可能包含多方面的因素，从客观来说自然是东方文化，中国功夫对他们有着天然的吸引力。

其次，花木兰替父从军的故事或许正好契合了欧美一贯的女性追求独立，平等的权利意识。在这方面，迪士尼翻拍这个故事的时，为了能更符合欧美人的思维方式做了不少改动，抛弃了一部分中国传统文化的含义，这也让她逐渐远离了她在中国古籍中原本的模样，但却更受欧美观众喜欢。

除此之外，迪士尼在美术设计方面上的成功也是显而易见的。花木兰这张亚裔面孔，或许我们在背《木兰诗》时候根本没法联想在一起，但却实打实的迎合了欧美人对亚洲面孔的审美口味。这也给粉丝们的二次创作提供了很好的基础。

如果非要以上这几点上再找点理由的话，海报和同人这事儿或许正好赶上了刘亦菲出演真人版《花木兰》电影的茬儿。别管咱们觉得刘亦菲合适不合适，从老外的这些言论，和转发点赞数里就能差不多看出来，他们大部分人觉得“这事儿，绝对靠谱！”

所以说，你现在知道花木兰在国外有多火了吗？

#mulan #disney #article #chinese #analysis #observation #food for thought #popularity

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