Taiwanese American heartthrob Leehom Wang performed "As Time Goes By" on Monday at the star-studded opening ceremony of the 2nd Beijing International Film Festival. All in all, Wang did a commendable job with Herman Hupfeld's song -- popularized by Dooley Wilson in Casablanca, of course -- but in front of a national audience -- the show was televised on CCTV-6 -- he flubbed the famous line, "You must remember this, / A kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh" ("The fundamental things apply / As time goes by"). He said "a smile is just a sigh." Oops.
"What is it with people falling through the sidewalk in China?" asks Katie, who brought my attention to the above, which happened in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. Remember the woman in Beijing who was plunged into boiling water when the ground inexplicably gave out from under her feet? How can you not remember. Sidewalk. Walking. SUBMERGED BY SCALDING WATER. DISASTER. She would perish from her injuries, which we were told included her skin and flesh getting “almost separated.”
Posted two days ago to Youku (embedded after the jump for those in China), this video currently has 785,000 views. Tang Zhenping, according to the description, is a 55-year-old farmer from Beijing’s Tangzhou Wangji Yongle Town who spent 10,000 yuan to build an electric car that can travel 140 kilometers per charge. Apparently at high speeds, the fan attached to the front of the car begins generating electricity that powers the vehicle in addition to the generator in the back -- however unlikely, it must be said, this seems. Everything about the car is nonetheless impressive, and it reportedly only took three months to design and build.
By now, multiple angles of American David Potter traversing the Enshi Grand Canyon in Hubei province are online, but no matter how you look at it -- even knowing he successfully crossed the 40-meter canyon that's 1,800 meters above sea level without falling to his death (because he was wearing no safety harness or parachute) -- it's still harrowing. A slackline, for those who aren't familiar, is different from a tightrope in that there's more stretching, like "a long and narrow trampoline," says Wikipedia.
This video has absolutely no redeemable value. In fact, the Chinese woman chirping Harper’s middle name — Seven – in two languages isn’t even all that interesting. And Victoria Beckham herself? I can think of precisely nothing to say, except maybe the almost-kind-of-newsworthy fact that she was in Beijing over the weekend to promote her new... Read more »
Animator/filmmaker Ellie Lee was featured on this site last month for her animated series Chinafornia, which is currently seeking support on Kickstarter. You should go check it out, because it looks like one of those creative projects about China that is actually original and unique, with all the right people working behind the scenes to make it a success. Both China Daily Show and BJC contributor Alicia have endorsed it.
Two years ago, musician Cholo Hermosa, one of the founders of a new Manila-based band called Yolanda Moon, visited Beijing with a company and family, and he shot lots of videos to, as he puts it, "have a first-person aspect of my trip to remember how I felt when I visited." It was only recently, however, that he was able to pull all the footage together and use it for the YM song "Path."
Does China even have 1,050 slices of bacon? If so, they all belong in my belly.
(Maybe not. There's a look of post-bacon remorse at the 3:05 mark that's priceless.)
Via Beijing Kids, a screenshot of Charlie Custer’s documentary about child abduction According to Shanghai Daily, “Eight people were sentenced to up to seven years behind bars in east China’s Zhejiang Province for stealing a baby boy and selling him 10 times within 15 months, the Youth Times reported yesterday.” Ten times! Gan and his... Read more »
