"Time selects the superior and eliminates the inferior, choosing the thoughts which impact upon human civilization in the long term." Jin Canrong, vice-director of the School of International Studies of Renmin University of China.
Source - Global Times
60 foreigners who helped shape China's 60 years
http://special.globaltimes.cn/2009-09/469109_2.html
Monday, September 21, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Chope | Easy Come Easy Go
Easy Come Easy Go
I keep calling from a higher point
To take advantage of the situation I'm in
And I turn it around to you
Should I call it some polite violence?
Chope 2009
---
Written by Wesley Choo
Performed by Wesley Choo, Ronald Lee and Bob Tan
** Yes it is a little lo-fi and recorded in a home studio without a suitable complement of mics and acoustic paneling. Enjoy it nevertheless!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Raid finds 37 people living in single Brisbane house
37 in a single house is pretty intense man. First, is this by choice or circumstance for both parties? Then, two key questions - why did the students allow this to happen without being to utter a voice of reason? And what kind of landlord is that? Unless they're paying negligible rent, this isn't the best piece of news I've heard in a while.
Raid finds 37 people living in single Brisbane house
CHRISTINE KELLETT
September 16, 2009
Source - The Age
Thirty-seven students have been found living in a single house in Brisbane's south.
The shock discovery at Sunnybank Hills was made as part of a series of council raids on properties across the city in a bid to curb residential overcrowding.
Since July last year, Brisbane City Council has inspected more than 1000 homes and units, issuing about 180 notices for non-compliance with sanitation, planning and fire regulations. A further 179 amenity issues have been identified in just the past month.
Among the breaches of the Housing Code, garages had been converted into bedrooms and temporary Portaloos were being installed in back gardens to accommodate the illegal numbers of people being packed into residential homes.
brisbanetimes.com.au revealed in May foreign students were overwhelmingly the victims of overcrowded accommodation, with four young women forced to share a bed in one case.
"Previously, the most we've seen is about 19 people living in one house, so this [at Sunnybank Hills] is quite extraordinary," Brisbane Deputy Mayor Graham Quirk said.
"In many cases these are overseas students being charged top dollar to live in substandard accommodation with not enough toilets or bedrooms.
"Students bring over a billion dollars to our annual economy and they spend a lot of money to get here, yet some find themselves victims of poor housing and sanitation."
Council last week passed amendments to its House Code, reducing the number of people allowed to reside in one household from six to five.
Cr Quirk said the council would continue to push for power of entry provisions to be granted to it, despite a previous refusal by the State Government on privacy grounds.
Local authorities have only been able to gain access to homes to conduct inspections with the assistance of the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, which can demand entry into private property.
The raids have resulted in a single but successful prosecution for breaches of fire safety laws earlier this year.
Cr Quirk said some overseas students were choosing to live like sardines to save cash.
"But there is no doubt some landlords are clearly profiteering from Brisbane's good reputation," he said.
"What we are seeing is organised accommodation in a lot of cases."
Individual fines for landlords can range up to $100,000 for non-compliance.
As well as "spoiling the experience" for international students, Cr Quirk said overcrowding posed serious health and fire risks.
He said improvements had been made in the past year, but warned the checks would continue.
Raid finds 37 people living in single Brisbane house
CHRISTINE KELLETT
September 16, 2009
Source - The Age
Thirty-seven students have been found living in a single house in Brisbane's south.
The shock discovery at Sunnybank Hills was made as part of a series of council raids on properties across the city in a bid to curb residential overcrowding.
Since July last year, Brisbane City Council has inspected more than 1000 homes and units, issuing about 180 notices for non-compliance with sanitation, planning and fire regulations. A further 179 amenity issues have been identified in just the past month.
Among the breaches of the Housing Code, garages had been converted into bedrooms and temporary Portaloos were being installed in back gardens to accommodate the illegal numbers of people being packed into residential homes.
brisbanetimes.com.au revealed in May foreign students were overwhelmingly the victims of overcrowded accommodation, with four young women forced to share a bed in one case.
"Previously, the most we've seen is about 19 people living in one house, so this [at Sunnybank Hills] is quite extraordinary," Brisbane Deputy Mayor Graham Quirk said.
"In many cases these are overseas students being charged top dollar to live in substandard accommodation with not enough toilets or bedrooms.
"Students bring over a billion dollars to our annual economy and they spend a lot of money to get here, yet some find themselves victims of poor housing and sanitation."
Council last week passed amendments to its House Code, reducing the number of people allowed to reside in one household from six to five.
Cr Quirk said the council would continue to push for power of entry provisions to be granted to it, despite a previous refusal by the State Government on privacy grounds.
Local authorities have only been able to gain access to homes to conduct inspections with the assistance of the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, which can demand entry into private property.
The raids have resulted in a single but successful prosecution for breaches of fire safety laws earlier this year.
Cr Quirk said some overseas students were choosing to live like sardines to save cash.
"But there is no doubt some landlords are clearly profiteering from Brisbane's good reputation," he said.
"What we are seeing is organised accommodation in a lot of cases."
Individual fines for landlords can range up to $100,000 for non-compliance.
As well as "spoiling the experience" for international students, Cr Quirk said overcrowding posed serious health and fire risks.
He said improvements had been made in the past year, but warned the checks would continue.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Quintessentially Singaporean - 'Kevin Matthew's My One and Only'
Quite quintessentially Singaporean. Anyone recall Lum May Yee's cover a decade odd ago? Those growing up years... :)
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Chope | Almond Nomad
Whimsical and funky quite rightly describes this instrumental piece about a nomadic almond.
Chope 2009 ---
Written by Wesley Choo Performed by Wesley Choo, Ronald Lee and Bob Tan
** Yes it is a little lo-fi and recorded in a home studio without a suitable complement of mics and acoustic paneling. Enjoy it nevertheless!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Donnie come lately
Donnie Yen Rocks!
Care to remember the kung-fu master in a breakdance moment?
---
Donnie come lately
Actor Donnie Yen goes from Ip Man to leading man in, oh, 26 years
IHT
Source - Straits Times 03 September 2009
SHANGHAI - FOR the past 26 years, Donnie Yen has developed a dedicated following in Asia for his impressive martial arts skills and a cult status internationally for his roles in popular action movies, including Once Upon A Time In China II and Hero. But until recently, he had, he said, 'never tasted what it meant to be a superstar'.
Instead, in big-budget movies, he often played in the shadow of established stars such as Jet Li and Jackie Chan.
But with Painted Skin and Ip Man, two box-office successes last year, Yen's star is finally rising.
'He's been around as long as the two Js,' said Mr Daniel Yun, outgoing managing director of MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, referring to Li and Chan. 'For a long time, he was the third choice; but with his films making big money at the box office, he's become the leading man to watch.'
Painted Skin, which was co-produced by Raintree, grossed 230 million yuan (S$48.57 million) in China last year, making it the second most successful film of the year there behind Red Cliff.
Yen, 46, seems to approach his newfound success with healthy scepticism.
In a recent interview in Shanghai, where he was filming his final scene for Bodyguards & Assassins, a big-budget period action film produced by Peter Chan, he commented that he had 'a lot of new friends' now - whereas in the late 1990s, he could not find anybody to help finance Ballistic Kiss, his second film as a director and producer.
'Now all the producers are calling me and I have films lined up all the way to 2012,' he said. 'It's beginning to sink in that after 26 years in the industry, I'm finally getting my break.'
Yen, who also recently finished work on 14 Blades, a Ming-era martial arts movie, acknowledges that he has tended to avoid expanding his acting abilities. He believes that directors never really encouraged him to act.
'It was more 'come in, fight, look cool, show your muscles',' he said, laughing. -- INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
Care to remember the kung-fu master in a breakdance moment?
---
Donnie come lately
Actor Donnie Yen goes from Ip Man to leading man in, oh, 26 years
IHT
Source - Straits Times 03 September 2009
SHANGHAI - FOR the past 26 years, Donnie Yen has developed a dedicated following in Asia for his impressive martial arts skills and a cult status internationally for his roles in popular action movies, including Once Upon A Time In China II and Hero. But until recently, he had, he said, 'never tasted what it meant to be a superstar'.
Instead, in big-budget movies, he often played in the shadow of established stars such as Jet Li and Jackie Chan.
But with Painted Skin and Ip Man, two box-office successes last year, Yen's star is finally rising.
'He's been around as long as the two Js,' said Mr Daniel Yun, outgoing managing director of MediaCorp Raintree Pictures, referring to Li and Chan. 'For a long time, he was the third choice; but with his films making big money at the box office, he's become the leading man to watch.'
Painted Skin, which was co-produced by Raintree, grossed 230 million yuan (S$48.57 million) in China last year, making it the second most successful film of the year there behind Red Cliff.
Yen, 46, seems to approach his newfound success with healthy scepticism.
In a recent interview in Shanghai, where he was filming his final scene for Bodyguards & Assassins, a big-budget period action film produced by Peter Chan, he commented that he had 'a lot of new friends' now - whereas in the late 1990s, he could not find anybody to help finance Ballistic Kiss, his second film as a director and producer.
'Now all the producers are calling me and I have films lined up all the way to 2012,' he said. 'It's beginning to sink in that after 26 years in the industry, I'm finally getting my break.'
Yen, who also recently finished work on 14 Blades, a Ming-era martial arts movie, acknowledges that he has tended to avoid expanding his acting abilities. He believes that directors never really encouraged him to act.
'It was more 'come in, fight, look cool, show your muscles',' he said, laughing. -- INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE
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