My roommate Dani stay in the room next to me. The district consists of a lot of apartments and bistros, which are considered the most comfortable living area in Paris. Christine is a friendly and chilled host. She speaks excellent English. I remember she greeted me in French and speak English when I did not understand due to my limited French ability. Since her family is all professional golf players, instead of coat or blouse, she wears a polo shirt and golf pants most of the time. She makes casual dinner for us, Italian pasta, stew meatballs in tomato sauces. In every meal, she will bring two bottles of wine, red and white for us to choose.

She talked about the comparison, such as traffic, policy and so on between the U.S, France, and China. You can tell she is proud of being a Parisian, not favoring cities elsewhere in France. We also met her daughter Marion. The first time we met her, she was in her serious working outfit, while she was so active, smiling and called it out “oh la la” whenever something we mentioned sparked her interest. Her favorite singer from the U.S. is Justin Timberlake, and when she drove us to the house in Fontainebleau, she danced and sang out loud. She also recommended us a few local clubs that she used to go.

Tour de Eiffel
The Eiffel tower, around eighty-one stories wrought iron lattice tower, located at the 9ARR. It is likely the tallest architecture in Paris where you can see it in the different parts. It was used to be the ugliest building, drew lots of attention and criticisms during the late 19th century. Artists thought the Eiffel tower has the giant outlook that used entirely black stacks, unlike any of the baroque style white marble architects like Notre Dame. Now it became the symbol of Paris. Though it was full of tourists, we never got tired of the view. I was able to have lots of good memory at the place.

The first night when we arrived at the building, my roommate Dani and I managed to visit the Eiffel tower at night. We arrived at the Trocadéo garden and saw the bright lit tower. It completely blew our mind. When you were near the Palais de Chaillot, you could get the full view of the tower. We came closer and saw its iron structure. It was cheaper to climb to the second floor; we still saw the panorama view, spiral around the Arc de Trump. Dani said one random guy tried to propose to her at the tower, which was the fun part to climb the tower.

The second time, after we finished our class, a few of us decided to check out the human-made beach. Unlike Nantes, Bordeaux that is near the coast, Paris does not have access to the beach. During the summer time, Parisien managed to have the sand laying out and had the seating and umbrellas. It was packed; so we went to the Champ de Mars, which was to the east of Eiffel Tower, across the river from the Trocadéro gardens. Compared to the busy area across the river, you got to see the full-size Eiffel tower. We lied down pretending we were drinking wine instead of water.

The third time, I came to the tower and saw the fireworks on the Bastille day at night along. Since the crowd completely blocked my way, I stayed at the spot beside the Trocadéo metro; I could only see the top. The firework was spectacular with the music it played. Changing colors, patterns, similar to the firework at the fourth of July. I heard the surrounded people speaking French and felt so isolated from them, but soon as the “Imagine” came out, people around started singing. It was so powerful when “there are no countries” and “Living life in peace.” I felt that to live at this moment in Paris paid off.

The last time spent at the Eiffel Tower was incredible. The only regret I had was I did not do the dress code—wear the black dress. The group of girls and guys decided to experience the midnight Paris, so we brought several bottles of wines and came to the Champ de Mars. The Eiffel Tower was lit on the last day. Though it was kind of illegal to drink champagne in this area, we still came. We talked about all the funny, sweet and nasty moments in Paris. We walked pass the tower, waterfall, and the square. Going home, I realized it was the last time I could experience the charm of Tour de Eiffel.

My first part of the story:“Bienvenue à Paris.”

This monthly column will cover my traveling experience, my reflection of the local culture, people and food in different locations.

The post Travel Around the World: Bienvenue à Paris #2 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Three is a Hong Kong-produced action film from director Johnnie To, starring Zhao Wei, Louis Koo, and Wallace Chung. It is another of To’s gangster movies that is a stylized satire of just and evil. Three shows the central theme- the complexity of human nature- contradictions inside and outside of the three characters, a cop (Louis Koo), a doctor (Zhao Wei) and a criminal (Wallace Chung). The cop who is supposed to arrest the criminal makes a false charge against him in order to protect the other police including himself.

The doctor is an ostensibly devoted doctor keeps failing to do operations as well as assisting the criminal to prove her ability as a doctor.

Lastly, the criminal, who is smart and seems innocent, while he is the most wicked character throughout the movie.

The film is mainly about cops who send a criminal that was shot to the hospital for treatment but he refuses to take them to capture his other companions. It causes the struggles between the doctor who wants to do the operation and the thug who refuses to take it. The cop intends to trap the criminal. It is a fast paced, criminal and suspenseful film that most people might feel hard to keep up with; the film creates a dark and depressed atmosphere.

Individuals who are into suspenseful and drastic films might find this movie a good fit. Wallace Chung’s acting is impressive by creating an erudite, cunning character. He is sometimes mad, calm and fierce. It is hard to act a versatile criminal who knows philosophy, psychology, and criminology so well that he could pick up the lines and attack the doctor or police. (It is similar to the Joker played by Heath Ledger in Batman: The Dark Knight, who is capable of knowledge and criminal techniques.) He seems weak because his right hand is crushed, inversely, he changes into a killer who says, “kill the cop XXX, who gave me a shot” to his gang friend. Three also has its shortages.

Some of the scenes are in contrast to the reality compared with the realness of the other scenes. Such as a scene when the criminals’ gang is shooting people in the hospital that creates chaos, the doctor has time to save a patient who is trying to commit suicide. Other than that, there are some omissions in the plot, which you would feel  that they are unrealistic, or there are better ways to solve the conflict.

Three features Johnnie To’s similar filming styles that are lighting, color choices, character choice as his other gangster movies. He uses light and shadow to create tension.

Such as a high angle shot and light that is right above a cop’s head to show a strict and nervous atmosphere when cops are ready to find out the thug’s companions. He does not adopt many warm colors except red, and he uses cold color tones: blue, gray, black and white.

The opening operation scene uses an intense red color to emphasize the vividness, which audiences might find too bloody. The setting, character’s clothes are mainly in cold tones. Moreover, the director uses a closed space that is the patient room, which is centered on the nurse table.

The criminal mostly stays on his bed; the conflicts go on and break out in this small space. His characters are both civilian and anti-heroes. The cop speaks out at the beginning of the film, “If the thug were not killed, police would be killed.” Johnnie To also tries something different, which is a slow motion and a long shot of a gunfire scene to highlight the conflict and emotion of every character.

Overall, Three is a good gangster and suspense movie. Don’t expect to find something calm and warm here except fast-paced and strained plots. Johnnie To gives a decent gangster movie that investigates the deeper question of good and evil. If you are a fan of Hong Kong produced gangster movies, check out Johnnie To’s other movies.

Check out Three‘s trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U67UDtFMPAc

The post Travel Around the World: What Does a Chinese Suspense and Action Movie Look Like? appeared first on KRUI Radio.

1. Seaside

One of the seaside at the east part of Nanao is called YangMeiKeng.

It is less well-known than other seasides while it has fantastic views, which is often used as a place for shooting wedding photo or film. Yangmei is the Chinese translation for berry, and Keng stands for the pit. They are inspired by the hill that is filled with berries. The river that is connected to the sea is crystal clear. The stones that are on the edge of the river are with the pointed angle or with different shapes. You can see the newlyweds have the photoshoot, standing at the edge of the stones and taking their vow.

There are three major activities that most people do here. First, you can choose to book a yacht for a group of 10 and go fishing – they also provide fly fishing pontoon to people who love solo fishing, open a party or do sailing for a group of 7. The Intrepid website will offer you the best selection of powerboats. make sure to bring sunglasses for water sports with you in case you want to go fishing.

Some people choose to go hiking. You will start from Dongchong, crosses the Dayanding and arrives in YangMeiKeng. The total trip is about 7 miles, where you will see the overview of the Dapeng Bay. The most popular activity is biking along the beach.

The four people bike is an attractive option. I once tried it with friends. The first person in the front needs to navigate, and it takes time to experiment and finally to keep balance. The ride will lead you to the Deer Mouth Height, which includes cliffs, rock hills, and rock caves. Trying out the seafood here is another must-do option. The traditional dishes are deep fried fish, crabs and scallops, steamed oysters and seasoned shrimps, etc

2. Night view/life

Shenzhen- a city that never sleeps. Similar to the major city in the States, people do various activities at night. The majority of people living in Shenzhen are young people, who go to work at eight and get done around 6. Working out after dinner is becoming a trend. The Shenzhen Bay Park, located in the Baoan district, on the west side of the city and close to Hong Kong.

It has a six-mile bike route and a mangrove forest. To run or bike at the park is an option because you get to see the newly built commercial districts, sports center and a part of Hong Kong. The night view is extraordinary. The Shenzhen Bay bridge which connects Shenzhen with Hong Kong is brightly lit at night.

After the nice walk around the bay, going out to a jazz bar or whiskey bar at the Coco Park is another option. Coco Park is a shopping center, located in the Futian district. It contains multiple restaurants, entertainment and leisure activities.

One-fourth of the shopping center is outdoors, where you can breathe in fresh air after dining or shopping. The first floor of Coco Park consists of bars. Shark Fine Wine & Dine is one of them.

It is special since it features different selections of wines from 8 different countries and cuisine made by Michelin-Star chefs. There are also sports bars and bars with DJs.

Another place for night bars is the Sea World, located in the Nanshan district.

It is similar to the inner harbor in Baltimore, which contains a large cruise. Since the location is near the Shenzhen Bay, this place is popular for foreigners. It has the international bars street and tons of restaurants. I had a frozen yogurt there which has a similar taste with the one in Iowa City. Rama Club is unique since it is decorated as an exquisite Thai garden.

It has different Buddha figures all over the courtyard. Come enjoy a cocktail and have a slice of pizza surrounded by the cultural relics.

3.Food

In Shenzhen, you can taste a variety of food from different cities in China since it is an immigrant city. The dish range from the local Cantonese cuisine(South) to mid or northwest Chinese cuisine, Korean, Japanese, South Asian and American food. You cannot miss the Cantonese food, Yuecai, because it is probably the most authentic one you can get.

Jade Garden, located at the Yitian Holiday Plaza is famous for the Cantonese Dimsum. Food is good in its look and the taste. You cannot miss the steamed shrimp dumplings, pan fried pork dumplings (serve with soup) and lobster cream soup with puff pastry, etc.

Shigonghui, located in the Futian district, is a place for traditional seafood. The restaurant is in the large scare, where people would sit at large round table, talk while eat. The service is fast-paced since a lot of people are in line. Dishes we usually order are roast pigeons, abalones, and scallops with minced garlic. It might be exotic to people who are not familiar with seafood, but they will not regret to try them. The freshness and flavor of the dishes are the key to success.

4.Afternoon tea

Shenzhen is also full of bakeries, café, and the specialty- milk tea place. Growing up in Shenzhen, we cannot resist the fruit flavor tea and milk tea in any seasons. If you also are a fan of tea, get a tea subscription so you can taste new flavors.

Heekcaa, located at different shopping centers in Shenzhen. It offers all kinds of tea from cheese tea, fresh fruit tea, etc. It is better than other tea stores because of the richness of the tea. They use tea base from Taiwan, North India and mix them with ice and milk.

1. A website made by a local English newspaper for foreigners who live or visit Shenzhen: Eyeshen
2. This is a useful website for things to do in Shenzhen including events, places, apartments, language study: Shenzhenparty.com
3. A useful traveling tool  in Shenzhen for reviews and tips: tripadvisor
4. There are six major metro lines in Shenzhen that is convenient for visitors. You can find schedule and stops to take: SZM

My first part of the city guide: Travel around the World: touring in Shenzhen Part 1

This monthly column will cover my traveling experience, my reflection of the local culture, people and food in different locations. 

The post Travel Around the World-Touring in Shenzhen Part 2 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

“Memory” has a melody with a light tripping rhythm. “I don’t remember the sound of your voice… Wish I could remember something you said.” This felt like Gano complained about his long-gone memory that he had with the girl he used to love. Instead of asking the girl to come back, he joked about how his growth with age affected everything. The rhythm is addictive and repetitive. This opening song leads to the overall theme and style of their album, to show the middle age annoyance through the catchy rock, lyric-oriented style.

“I Could Be Anything” is like a fairy tale that they dream. The lyrics are about a brave man who killed the dragon and celebrated its death with pride. It is a country feeling song, and the percussion sound stands out. It is also interesting that Gano starts the song with his high-pitched sound to the slight low pitch chorus with the other band members.

“Issues” starts with a few light and compelling pitches. It sounds like he is questioning the girl: “why do you talk about your issues all the time?” The lyrics are sometimes rhyming: “issue” and “tissue”. Gano still brings out his twitchy singing style through this song. It reminds me of the Mika’s voice who uses lots of turns. “Ghost” starts with some weird preaching. The lyrics show that the behavior and things happened are a mysterious like a holy ghost. The verses are fast-paced, and it gradually slows down in verse two. In this song, the bass and drums sound stands out.

“What You Really Means” is the song written by Gano’s half-sister Cynthia Gayneau. It adds a different flavor to the album that is romantic and sweet. They add a few measures of piano and saxophone in it that made a nice transition to the ending of the song.

“Foothills” is another witty song that has the same tone as “Memory.” It is telling that the person has no choice to fall in love in this age. He sings, “I can’t tell you why I am in love” when he is continuing with his normal life.

“Traveling Solves Everything” also has a similar pattern, as “I Could Be Anything.” It repeats the verse “If you have a problem, your life unravels.” It is about traveling and escaping from the problems of life. It keeps speeding up till the end of the song.

“Big Car” is a fun song describes a guy who takes a girl out driving  on a rugged road which makes the girl uncomfortable. Before they get to the next town, he will bury the girl in the desert.

“Untrue Love” is a distorted love song: “my untrue love is true.” The lyrics are twisted since the guy hates to admit he loves the girl, and he struggles. Gano’s leisure sound following with the accompaniment of the other band members that feel the helplessness of these men.

“I Am Not Done” is the last song in this album. This a good corresponding title to the album title “We Can Do Anything.” The lyrics are about their attitudes toward the ups and downs of life and the broken-up relationship, etc. The rhythm is lively and fun. 

Overall, it is classic alternative rock that I am not used to listening to, but it refreshes your mind if you always listen to mainstream music like pop or R&B. I like the wordplay that Gano uses. It has the sense of self-mocking while being witty and funny. Also, you can tell they sing about their relationship with Christianity, although it isn’t obvious but there’s a huge influence from it. “Memory,” and “Traveling Solves Anything” do a good job with lyric-writing. “Memory” is by far my favorite song on this album. It has a good transition from the main verse and the second verse, and the chorus is amazing in the end.

Listen to the full album below:

The post Album Review: “We Can Do Anything” by Violent Femmes appeared first on KRUI Radio.

I arrived at the Trumpet Blossom Café two hours early to meet with Daisy Chains and get a sense of the atmosphere of this lovely and cozy place. I like their warm lighting, dedicated ornaments in the house.

Around 8:30 pm, Daisy Chains came to my table, and we started our conversation. “We did a ten-day tour in Midwest, and now it is about time to perform in my hometown” said Iowa City native, Drummer Walker Neudorff. The guitarist, main vocalist E.A. Bambery, and bassist Allison Gunderson are from Minneapolis.

Country-inspired, garage, post-punk music group Daisy Chains is the sweet, warm and down-to-earth band when it came to answering my questions. “I like the softness and feminine of the name ‘Daisy.’ Daisy is also a name from my favorite salsa jar” Beth described the band name excitedly. “We love being on the road, doing live show” the three of them agreed, and they enjoy the tension on the stage.

Before the headliner, Daisy Chain played, The Savage Young Taterbug was the first band that started out. When they were playing tunes on the stage, a crowd of people suddenly came closer to the stage, and stood in front of my table. I figured if you want to have a good view of the band, you could only stand between the tables and bar.

The Savage Young Taterbug has a guitar, cello, and electronic keyboard.

They had a soft, thick country-mixed rock feeling. The addition of the cello gradually built up the atmosphere that impressed me a lot. “We got a beautiful feeling, whisper, stash to my baby” got stuck in my head. The third song “The Paperstud” was my favorite song from them. But the keyboard did not play it smoothly in the beginning. The audience laughed a little and waited for them to keep it back on. The sound of the keyboard is liked raindrops falling to compose a beautiful, sad folk rhythm. The Audience seemed enjoyed their performances.

After a short wait, Gem Jones came on the stage with their basses. The main vocalist wore a polka dot shirt with his flamboyant blonde hair: I think they had a good fashion taste.

Their song has the Lo-fi garage rock or punk rock feeling of which I am not a fan. It is fuzzy and loud, and the lyrics were not what they wanted us to listen to, but the beat was awesome. After hearing one song, I felt I lost my hearing a little. I tried to stand in the second row to follow the crowd; I saw people in the first row were moving their heads following their music.

Finally, around 11 pm, the central part of tonight, Daisy Chains, began to set up. Some of the people in the front were gone, and other audiences went to have a seat near the bar. They started with two songs, not on their album. At first, the drum part overpowered Beth’s vocals; later her voice became powerful, but softer at the same time. When the second song “Don’t tell me” played, people started to lean toward the stage. I loved Beth’s voice so much; it is versatile, and she conveyed the bitterness of the lyrics. The ending part featured a radical drum solo that stood out.

The third and fourth song were from their album “Above Abroad.” “Slack Jawed” featured some jumpy bass chords. Between the chords, Beth sang, “let go” and yelled it out. There was a feeling of leaving the ungrateful people. In the middle of the song, Beth paused and softly  thanked the chillness that Walker (drummer) brought, which differed from how she sang on the stage.

I liked their song “Bye Babe” the most. The Bass lead the song. Beth’s voice was emotional when singing “my babe.” It rose and fell and made you want to hear more songs like this. The last song was “Your Heart Out” by the Fall. They added a guitar that added a more smooth feeling.

They ended the show with more and more people coming to the front. When they wrapped up, some people came and asked if they could buy an album from them. I felt the time passed relatively fast and I wanted to hear more from their lyrical songs and sink in the atmosphere again. Their music speaks for them. I wish they would release an LP and maybe record a video so that people who cannot see their live performance can hear it.

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Zwigoff was a fun character. He likes to pin out what he likes and doesn’t like about film industry directly, and his attitude toward his work. He shared his early life experiences, his inspiration to do the work, script, and casting, etc.

The evening started with the host introducing Terry Zwigoff as a filmmaker, producer, and scriptwriter. Andy Brodie also mentioned he has an obsession in collecting music.

His fascination with blues music triggers his interest to shoot the life story of a blues musician Howard Armstrong in making his first documentary “Louie Bluie”(1985). “I am not sure the audience will hear what I get because I am so obsessed with this stuff,” said by Zwigoff.

We listened to a tune of “State Street Rag.” It is a light, fast-paced blues song. We can hear the main tune by the mandolin followed by cello and guitar. Zwigoff originally wanted to cover Howard Armstrong’s story to write in the magazine, but after he flew back to Detroit and interviewed him for three days, he wanted to make a film. He filmed it with only knowing some basic editing, filming skills from his friends.

Then we saw the clip of Armstrong’s conversation with his old friend Bogan about his ABC’s Pornography book. There were a lot of colored cartoons and handwritten stories about sexuality. You can tell the humor of Armstrong seeing as the audience was pretty entertained. Zwigoff talked about the process of making the Luis Blues. He did the fly on the wall camera style to capture the ordinary routine of Armstrong intimately, even wanting to film his girlfriends. He set up a fake sound stage and moved Armstrong’s home setting to Chicago, and recorded the band’s reuniting scene. He joked that this film was shown at the L.A Film Festival with 12 people showing up and it had a two-star review and, years later, it got good reviews by critics.

The second clip we saw was taken from his second documentary called “Crumb”. It is about the life of the underground social satire cartoonist R.Crumb. The documentary consist of his graphic designs, interviewing from his family, ex-girlfriend, etc. Zwigoff talked about how he has been friends with Robert Crumb for so long that he can shoot him honestly. He worked with the three Crumb brothers Charles, Max, and Robert and collected artworks from them. He even spent a night at their house in Philadelphia.

The documentary took him ten years to come up with interview questions, getting money and getting approval from the legal department. Zwigoff mentioned that the downside of filming it is he knew the questions and answers of R. Crumb, and he might make up some scenes that are for the benefit of the audience. Going back from the clip, it followed Crumb when he was drawing what he saw in Brooklyn. The background music is melody-driven, following Crumb’s view of different groups of people. Crumb draws the fashion trend of the black people’s clothing from wearing jackets to having earrings, and the street people who looked fearless saying “I have nothing till tomorrow”. The black humor of this clip made us laugh most of the time.

The following clips we saw were from his fiction movie and comedies “Ghost World,” “Bad Santa,” and “Art School Confidential,” and Zwigoff continued talking about the back story of making the film and casting.

“Ghost World” was adapted and rewrote from the graphic novel by Daniel Clowes. It was shown in filmscene and got a lot of good comments from the acute dialogues and the two high school girls’ perspectives. Zwigoff talked about how his wife got him into making the comic story, which is not his favorite. He co-wrote the story with Daniel Clowes. We saw the clip of the blues bar where the girl looked down at the guy’s reaction to the hostesses, and the conversation between Enid and Seymour, who played by Steve Buscemi. Zwigoff said about the castings before the showing that he sympathized with people competing for a character and tried to please the directors.

The clip shown from “Bad Santa” was Willie played by Billy Bob Thornton, who celebrated Christmas eating all of the candies and using liquor to sanitize the kid’s injured hands, which was hilarious. Zwigoff also talked about the exciting experience of castings. He found Billy Bob Thornton from seeing his commercial, but he has no experiences in acting. Tony Cox for the Elf was first rejected by the Cony brothers, because there was no black elf before Zwigoff insisted on picking him, otherwise he would not direct the film. Critics had good and bad comments on Tony Cox’s performances that seem subjective, according to Zwigoff.

They played the clip of “Art School Confidential” but did not get into the details of filming it. This was another collaboration between Zwigoff and Dan Clowes. The scene that impressed me well was the art exhibition and parade about “Art is not a crime”. Zwigoff said how the acting of John Malkovich amazed him, that he could give whatever the director wanted in a few seconds.

The last part of tonight was the Q&A. Zwigoff replied to the audiences wittily. One of the question was asked about if he was interested in directing a play, he strongly disagreed that he never liked “Singing in the Rain” and he would be open to any genres except theatre. He often said he would not look back on his work because he did not like to.

Zwigoff is friendly and funny; he even talked to me one on one after the show. It was my first Mission Creek Festival event which brought me into his fantastic, realistic and black humor film world. I would watch his documentaries and films in the future.

Checkout more events on the Mission Creek Festival. Click here for the line up.

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