Saturday 28 March 2015

Lee Kuan Yew: A Very DIAO Man

Hi all.

Tonight's post will be a little different from the usual Jay Chou updates or commentaries.
Yet, in a strange way, what I'm going to write about is tied in with how this blog came to be. 

Allow me to explain. 




See that man on the cover of the 6 April edition of TIME magazine?
That, my dear readers, is Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the Founding Father and first Prime Minister of my beloved country, Singapore. 
He passed away peacefully on 23 March 2015 at 03:18 hours, local time.
His impact on Singapore's history and development was immense and ever since his passing on, Singaporeans have been mourning yet paying him tribute. 
By no means can he be described as perfect but there was never any doubt that whatever he did in his tenure as Prime Minister (for 31 years!), was done out of a singular obsession with taking care of our tiny island and our citizens when Singapore became an independent nation in 1965. 

For a little more insight into Mr Lee, here is a link to a website which has been set up:


As can be seen, he instituted many policies, some popular, some not so but all aimed at improving life for the citizens, regardless of race, language or religion. He was an excellent orator with an amazing intellect and has been lauded as a great statesman. Yet he remained very much a simple family man who loved his wife and children.

There were two policies Mr Lee implemented for which I am especially grateful for, as Minister of State for Education, Communications and Information, Sim Ann elucidated on.
These were his contributions to women's advancement and that of bilingualism. 



He made education for every child, boy or girl, a priority, and insisted on the use of English as the medium of instruction and working language, with the compulsory learning of one's Mother Tongue so as to maintain a 'cultural ballast'. In the Singapore context, Mother Tongue referred to Mandarin, Malay and Tamil, in line with the main racial groups.
There were many who struggled with the then stringent standards imposed on Mother Tongue and many who failed.
But on the whole, the benefits of learning two languages became evident when we entered the working world and were more able to function effectively in both Asian and Western settings. 

I certainly found my average standard of Mandarin very useful when I became a fan of Jay and began translating what he said to other non-Chinese friends on a forum for international fans. Which has led to this blog, followed by the Facebook Pages and enabled me to forge some really awesome relationships which are still ongoing. 
I have also found it easier to interact with Chinese fans as I could converse and write simple comments in Chinese. Sometimes. these fans write to me in Chinese and I answer them in English....which seems to work as well! 


Looking back on other aspects of Mr Lee's life and character (which are beyond the scope of this post), I am pretty certain Jay would use only one word to describe him viz DIAO.
And I absolutely agree. 








Saturday 21 March 2015

Jay Chou knows how to have fun!


Just look at that man!


One observation about Jay from my few years of fandom is how His Royal Diaoness has an innate sense of fun, either doing stuff which is unexpected or playing tricks on his friends.

This quality came shining through in the past few months during his 'World Tour' of three separate (not concerts) but wedding parties in England, Taiwan and Australia.

Let me recap and put them together here for easier reference.


1. I'll start with the cutest part from the magical fairytale wedding in Yorkshire.

Tossing the bouquet backwards to single girlfriends has traditionally been the bride's task after the wedding ceremony.
It was really not too surprising that Jay, on seeing how fun it was, insisted on having a go as well to toss to HIS single male friends!

“好好玩!我也要!”
(Very fun! I want to do it, too!)

And what a good, strong throw it was, totally accurate in aim towards the excited throng of guys behind him and Hannah! :)


Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyC3Xm5Slo0&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ49FfHl2FFfJ0DAwzMAUugv&index=3



Screenshot from the vid:




2. Next was the circus-themed party in Taipei.

No surprises about a circus per se. After all, he has used that background for his Mr Magic MV but one would have thought that a more understated affair would have been more suitable for the seniors in the industry.
Not Jay, however,
So a circus it was and his guests all joined in the spirit of things sportingly. :)

The cutest part about this party was, to me, when the couple processed in with....Hannah's insanely adorable Pomeranian, Machi all togged out in a suit and perched comfortably between Jay and Hannah!
Looks like Machi loves dressing up as much as his family. ;)
Simply amazing!






Watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGGJm8ibOY8&list=PLbHLPahX3mJ6f5do0ykfjJPoq6SCpAJBd&index=6


3. Jay saved the best for last when he pulled yet another prank on one of his favourite 'victims', his faithful makeup artist, Du Ge.


Watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qc0ZDbfypk


Cheeky Jay first got Jason and Xiao Mai to lie down next to him for photos, so as to allay any suspicions.
After which, they beckoned Du Ge to have his turn and he dutifully took his position next to Jay.
It seems he might have suspected something but when the Boss tells you to do it, you just have to do it, right??
Anyway, the next thing he knew, Jay had artfully nudged him into the pool, by virtue of a pull from his right arm and a push from his right thigh....lol!
Poor Du Ge!








All I can say is: life as Jay Chou's friend is never boring...hahaha!

I trust somebody had the sense to have kept Du Ge's phone for him before this happened. ;)


Well, this was not the the first prank.
And neither will it be the last.


Cheers and enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Sunday 15 March 2015

Diaoness Updates: Of Luxgen cars (updated), cute godchildren and adorable Machi

After the third and final wedding party in Australia, it was back to business for Mr Chou as he headed to Shanghai for more commercial shoots. I do not know for certain which brand he was there for but the latest photos and video which have popped up on Facebook have been related to Taiwanese car marque, Luxgen.
Kudos for getting him to endorse this homegrown brand!
After all, who better than the King of Mandopop who is also a well known autophile?

So handsome, ya?? ;)





Read more about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxgen


Youtube vid of the commercial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2UlwEbfFYU

BTS of the commercial:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUlNhPmPbcw&feature=youtu.be





More pics here:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.645371135567560.1073742056.399217090182967&type=1


                                                                     ***********

Moving right along, my News Feed has been flooded today with the latest images from Will Liu's Facebook post, sharing lovely pics of Jay and Hannah visiting Will and Vivi at the hospital where she had recently delivered her third child, a baby girl named Shan Shan.
Looking at the pics gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling....can't wait to hear news of a little Jay or a little Hannah!

Photos from Will Liu's Facebook:

"Upon returning to Taiwan, Jay and Hannah headed straight for the hospital to visit Vivi who had delivered Baby Shan Shan just 24 hours ago. Jay was a little nervous holding the baby but still took care to let Yu En caress his little sister gently...so much like a Dad.
Baby Shan Shan seemed to enjoy being held by Hannah, the two of them looking at each other intently for some time.
Jay then carried Yu En and found that he had grown much heavier.
He also amused his godson with his B-Box, ;)
We went off to play some basketball, without bothering to change our attire and Hannah came along to support. Took many photos with fans and played till darkness set in."


https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1024767237551629&id=150456634982698









                                                                     **********

To end off,  here's Jay and Machi sharing in some new dishes at his Fujiwara Tofu restaurant:



Cheers!

Friday 13 March 2015

Diaoness Updates: A Gold Coast Party

First came the extraordinarily magical fairytale wedding ceremony in Yorkshire, England on 17 January 2015.

http://jaychoudiaoness.blogspot.sg/2015/01/jay-chou-and-hannah-quinlivans.html


Followed by the circus-themed poolside banquet in Taipei's W Hotel on 9 February 2015.

http://jaychoudiaoness.blogspot.sg/2015/02/diaoness-updates-taipei-wedding.html

In complete contrast to those (at least in terms of weather and temperature), Jay and Hannah's third and final wedding party, this time for Hannah's family and friends in Australia, especially her grandparents, was held in the hot and sunny environs of none other than the famous Gold Coast's Sheraton Mirage on 9 March 2015.

Jay's ultra-cool Mum and Hannah's charming Grandpa:




With Hannah's Grandma (left) and Marge, a close friend of the family (right):




The mercury was definitely in the 30s but the bride and groom, all togged out in matching baby blue outfits had a grand time with about fifty guests, hosting a buffet lunch and taking loads of photographs by the pool and on the beach.


Hannah's father, Patrick served as the emcee for the occasion and when the time came for the couple to enter, he mentioned that Hannah and Jay had something different planned and advised the guests to remain seated.
Xiao Mai and Xuegao were spotted outside the door, getting ready and soon, the jaunty introductory strains of Jay's Ukulele was heard and without further ado, the two choreographers danced in.
Any hopes of Jay and Hannah also dancing in, however, were soon dashed and understood when her beautiful blue Mikael D dress with a long train embellished with lace and feathers was revealed as she walked in with Jay. :)

Link to vid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHsZAJzYO3w&list=UUT6yg9Qie19ubBOjK-rbpmw

See how elaborate the train was!




The lovely wedding cake was baked by Charline and her husband from Juno Bakery in Sunnybank, Brisbane.
It featured a rich fruit cake with white chocolate fondant and had apparently taken them two whole days to make!







Charline with Hannah and Jay



Photo displays:








Some other notable guests apart from the family were Dr Dimity Dornan AO, the founder of Hear and Say, for which Hannah and Jay are both Ambassadors.



Friends from the Taiwan community in Brisbane:





Jason snuggling up to Jay. ;)




Xiao Mai looks so handsome without his usual cap! Loving his suit!



Xuegao's coloured hair matches the bridal couple's outfits...lol!




With Hannah's bridesmaid:



Du Ge and Jennifer get their turn:



Beach pics from weibo:


Love this one...


Daddy Q having fun!



Pic from Jason:




More photos on the Jayannah Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1559301734317698.1073741858.1395478580700015&type=3


Link to a news article:

http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/music/story/jay-chou-ends-wedding-tour-gold-coast-party-uninvited-jacky-wu-calls-chou-ungr

Of note is JVR's official statement regarding Mr Wu's source of discontent:

"Jacky Wu was on the guest list Jay made but in the end, Chou's mother prepared the shortlist."

As can be seen, Jay's mother was the decision-maker about the guest list.
So if he's not happy about being left out, please ask Madam Ye about it and stop going on about Jay.


I'll end off this post on a happier note with two of my favourite photos of these two lovebirds, which incidentally have also been receiving the most Likes on Facebook:








NB:

Of course, netizens are now speculating if Hannah is already pregnant but then again, would it be any surprise if she is?
After all, she and Jay have made no secret of the fact that they are ready to start a family, so the sooner, the better!
Here's wishing them all the best!


Thursday 5 March 2015

Diaoness Update: MV for What's Wrong (怎么了)



After a very long spell of practically zero news about His Royal Diaoness, finally pics and info started coming through yesterday....like that dishy one above....*swoon*
Something about Jay in sunglasses..... ;)


The MV for What's Wrong, a song with Cindy Yen, was released at midnight yesterday, to huge relief from fans who had been waiting impatiently. True to form for his previous duets with Cindy, it was another 'Jay-in-one place-Cindy-in-another' scenario, which led some fans to ask why he was always shooting his duets like so.
However, note that MVs with Lara were not always shot separately.

Jay looks super handsome in the MV and Cindy is as lovely as ever,
Most notable are the scenic locations Jay used viz the White Cliffs of Dover, what I think is the Yorkshire countryside and Yang Ming Shan for Cindy's part.


Here's the link for the MV:

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


Link to a news article:

http://xin.msn.com/en-sg/entertainment/story/jay-chou-stands-on-the-edge-of-a-cliff-to-film-mv/ar-BBifyWZ#page=2

"Mandopop superstar Jay Chou filmed the music video of his new song “What’s wrong” at the magnificent White Cliffs of Dover in England during his recent honeymoon.
After his fairy-tale wedding in January, Jay toured around the country with his wife Hannah Quinlivan and later resumed filming of his new movie Now You See Me 2. During filming, the multi-hyphenate spotted ideal locations for his music video and quickly flew his crew from Taiwan to England.
Although the winds were very strong at the White Cliffs, Jay did not put on any safety harnesses and depended on two crew members to hold onto his clothes. Engrossed in his acting, the singer walked so close to the edge of the cliff that the team broke out in a cold sweat.
When asked about his life-risking antics, Jay said that the effects would turn out better if he “stood near the end of the road”. “Scenes in the MV have to match the song lyrics, such as withered trees and a bed of snow. So I hope Vincent Fang (Jay’s long-time lyricist friend) would write less complicated lyrics in future,” he laughed."