Hello Youtubes! Yesterday November 27th, was Bruce Lee's birthday. If he's alive today, he'd be 71 years old. If he's alive today, we'd be feeling the earth tremble and hearing thunder everyday as Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris trade punches and kicks.Enter the Dragon is a lot of people's favorite but, my favorite Bruce Lee movie of all time is Way of the Dragon: Awesome video DaneTheConquerer! The music is done by Ennio Morricone. The composer who did a lot of the Spaghetti Western themes including The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. |
Monday, November 28, 2011
Remembering the Master
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GroggyBot
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Super Megafest 2011
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GroggyBot
Super Megafun! Super Megafest 2011 happened last weekend on November 19th and 20th at the Sheraton Hotel in Framingham, MA. With Thanksgiving happening in the U.S. on November 24th, 4 days after the convention, I had a very busy week and some bad allergies so, I didn't get a chance to talk about Super Megafest 2011 until now.Super Megafest is a smaller convention compared to the ones I attended in the past year. But as a wise Jedi once said, "Size matters not." As Super Megafest had a great guest list which included Patrick Stewart who made an appearance on Saturday. I didn't get to meet Captain Picard but for the lucky people who did meet him, they assured me that he's awesome and nice. Maybe I'll get to meet him at future conventions. I did get to meet Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee of Lord of the Rings) again. I first met him at the Museum of Science of Boston a while back. He autographed his book There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale and Rudy for me all those years ago. This time, I finally got my copy of The Goonies and the insert of Return of the King signed. I also chatted with him for a bit and was able to sneak in for a photo op. He's super nice and down to earth. It might not seem like much reading my testaments here about how nice the celebrities are but, once you get to meet a snarky and jaded celebrity you'll be more appreciative with the nice ones. I also met the man who donned the Sauron armor in Lord of the Rings, Sala Baker. We got to talking about how he wanted to play professional basketball but ended up being an actor. He was excited to be in Boston and wish he had more time to explore. He especially wanted to go to the Museum of Science. Alright MoS, my former employer, I'd plugged you a few times at the convention and on this blog. Where's my commission? At least send me some free stuff. I also got to shake hands with Jeremy Bulloch, the badass bounty hunter Boba Fett from Star Wars. Moments later, I realized I forgot to bring my Boba Fett Star Wars trading card for him to sign! WTF?! Ugh! EPIC FAIL! If I never get to see him again, this will haunt me for the rest of my life.
More about the concert and Super Megafest after the "JUMP!" |
Friday, November 25, 2011
The Days We Spent Together
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GroggyBot
一起走過的日子 This screen cap is from A Moment of Romance (天若有情) which doesn't include一起走過的日子 in the soundtrack. For some reason I keep thinking it's attached to the movie. The song fits the movie so well. Instead, the song was attached to Lung Fung Restaurant (龍鳳茶樓) and Casino Raiders 2 (至尊無上II永霸天下).When Andy Lau's (劉德華) 一起走過的日子 (The Days We Spent Together) was released in August of 1991, it topped the Hong Kong charts over night and rapidly climbed the charts in Asia. It didn't end there, the song quickly spread throughout America and got a lot of people to sing karaoke. Back then, most people in America didn't know what Karaoke was (is it edible? Like a Carrot?). It started a craze and everyone and their mothers were singing 一起走過的日子. Literally, their mothers. The song featured a traditional Chinese instrument, the 二胡 (erhu). This traditional instrument mixed nicely with a contemporary sound which added a flavor of culture into the 90's Hong Kong Pop scene. The 二胡's (erhu) melancholic strings drew a lot of the older Chinese listeners while Andy Lau's (劉德華) star power drew the younger crowd. Andy was known for his acting abilities and was just beginning to get hot in his singing career. 一起走過的日子 not only fanned the flames of that fire, the song made Andy into more than just an idol. He was named one of the Four Heavenly Kings (四大天王) in Hong Kong. Probably the first of the Heavenly Kings and definitely the most popular of the four. Even til this day, he is a force to be reckon with. 一起走過的日子 also caught the attention of people whom had no interest in Hong Kong Pop Culture and got them listening to CantoPop. Even if you haven't heard of Andy Lau, most likely you've seen a movie that Andy had starred in or involved in someway or another. Have you ever heard of a little movie called The Departed? Matt Damon's role in The Departed is the parallel of Andy's role in the original Hong Kong version, Infernal Affairs (無間道). Where were you when 一起走過的日子 topped the charts? Did we spend those days together? sake5899's channel I'm trying to come up with a story to link up these two videos. What do you think the connection could be with this video and the one on the bottom? noname0033's channel This is the video I watched the most. I used to watch my friend's uncle practice this song every morning as I waited for my friend getting ready school. 作詞: 小美 作曲: 胡偉立 如何面對 曾一起走過的日子 現在剩下我獨行 如何讓心聲一一講你知 從來無人明白我 唯一你給我好日子 有你有我有情有生有死有義 多少風波都願闖 只因彼此不死的目光 有你有我有情有天有海有地 不可猜測總有天意 才珍惜相處的日子 道別話亦未多講 只拋低這個傷心的漢子 沉沉睡了 誰分享今生的日子 活著但是沒靈魂 才明白生死之間的意思 情濃完全明白了 才甘心披上孤獨衣 有你有我有情有天有海有地 當天一起不自知 分開方知根本心極痴 有你有我有情有生有死有義 只想解釋當我不智 如今想傾訴講誰知 剩下絕望舊身影 今只得千億傷心的句子 剩下絕望舊身影 今只得千億傷心的句子 |
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Doctor Who: Happy 48th!
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GroggyBot
It's Doctor Who's 48th Anniversary! There's much to rejoice and there's dancing! Everyone dances! Including the Doctor and... have you ever seen an Ood dance? GuarroRock has another great video that was shown during David Tennant's wrap party. |
Super Megafest 2011: Videos
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GroggyBot
Hello Youtubes! In this very special edition of "Hello Youtubes" I'm doing a shameless plug for myself! Hello and welcome to grog1138's channel. I went to Super Megafest during the weekend of November 19th - 20th in Framingham, MA. It was an awesome time and the cosplayers who attended raised that awesomeness to the nth power! Here's a few videos I captured of:
grog1138 Hulk won the contest. I wanted Blaster to win because he's a working boombox! Check out Two Face's coin flip. He never dropped the coin once. Super Megafest concert videos after the "JUMP!" |
Friday, November 18, 2011
Doctor Who: 2011 Christmas Special Trailer
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GroggyBot
The trailer for the 2011 Christmas Special is up! "In a forest in a box in a sitting room?" What's going on? Mr. Tumnus? We'll find out in a little more than a month! |
Midnight Kiss
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午夜的吻別 Seemingly out of nowhere Aaron Kwok (郭富城) stormed the CantoPop scene with his 1991 album 到底有誰能夠告訴我 (If Only Someone Would Tell Me). If ONLY someone would tell us to prepare for the Mandarin invasion. For decades Cantonese lyrics dominated the Hong Kong music industry ever since Sam Hui (許冠傑) popularized it. A lot of us grew up with Cantonese pop culture and we would refuse to listen to Mandarin music or watch movies in Mandarin simply because we don't understand the dialect. Then in the early 90's Mandarin made a come back with artists like Aaron Kwok and Jimmy Lin (林志穎). Even established CantoPop artists such as Leon Lai (黎明), Andy Lau (劉德華) and Jacky Cheung (張學友) would have to produce a Mandarin album every year along with their Cantonese albums in order to stay in the game. Along with the music we grew a comfort to Mandarin and ultimately appreciated the diversity of dialects and languages of not just Chinese pop culture but with Asian pop culture as a whole. We grew out of the island. Do we have Aaron Kwok to thank for this? 午夜的吻別 (Midnight Kiss) was the last song on the A side of the 到底有誰能夠告訴我 (If Only Someone Would Tell Me) album. With a soothing guitar melody and longing lyrics Aaron reminds us that it is tough to leave that special someone after a kiss goodnight. Haters can hate all they want (including myself) but, Aaron earned his place with the 4 Heavenly Kings of CantoPop (四大天王). How many male singers can hit those high notes? Also, how many singers can choreograph their own dance moves? Aaron first started his career as a TVB back up dancer. His biggest influence is Michael Jackson and he aspired to be like him. In his own right, I can safely say that Aaron didn't do too shabby being one of the biggest idols in Hong Kong history. There's no dancing in the video below for 午夜的吻別 (Midnight Kiss). I'll cover that part of Aaron Kwok later but, in the meantime, come reminisce with me. Which goodnight kiss do you remember most? powerofwe's channel The sound is a little funky because this video is ripped from a karaoke VCD where the left and right channel is separated. Left being instrumental only and right having Aaron's singing. If you know the song you can shut off your right channel and sign along with the music. 作詞:蔣東良 作曲:徐嘉良 編曲:郭小霖 輕輕的說聲 Good night 耳畔穿梭的風 是我深情的夢 人漸漸散去 夜漸漸冷卻 世界剩下我和你 輕輕的說聲 Good night 印在臉龐的吻 是否你也會懂 夜已經沉醉 燈光也熄滅 轉載來自 魔鏡歌詞網 我的心跳動不停 午夜的吻別 就像星星燃燒不睡 捨不得離去 怕自己空虛 把你留在夢裡 午夜的吻別 就像海洋狂熱不定 多盼望明天 愛不會改變 天天送你回家 直到永遠 |
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Chrono Trigger: Doctor Who?
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GroggyBot
Time paradox! The universe is going to go all explodey! Frog is tripping over books! Actually... maybe? I'm not sure how the incident shown in the video below fits into Chrono Trigger's timeline and if we'd still get new game plus after. |
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Test Your Might!
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GroggyBot
Hello Youtubes! Come back to 1995 with me and let's go to Circle Cinema to watch Mortal Kombat! Nice video emochan! |
Immortals
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GroggyBot
Friday, November 11, 2011
Doctor Who: 11yr11mo11dy11hr11min11dw
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GroggyBot
Right now being the 11th minute of the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in the 11th year, let's celebrate the existence of the 11th Doctor with these two amazing collaborative pieces put together by the Doctor Who Fan Orchestra. Musically inclined fans from all over the world show their love for the Doctor by contributing their talents to two fantastic Murray Gold compositions. And the end result is epic! This video makes me smile every time. It just shows that people from all around the world can connect with a common goal and create something beautiful and extraordinary. (Phew! Posted just in time!) |
Lover's Concerto
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GroggyBot
Kelly Chen 陳慧琳 Lover's Concerto 1998 |
The butterfly followed its antennae and found the blue flower pattern on her dress. She looked at it curiously wondering what it was doing on her lap. Before she can find an answer, the butterfly fluttered away. She watched it floating towards a new purpose. When the florid pilgrim flew out of site, she turned to me and smiled. At that moment I looked into her eyes and time ran askew. We were able to capture the instance in a floating loop of infinity. All the seasons blended together as the entire spectrum of the rainbow spiraled around us . Nothing else seemed to matter. We were untouchable, we were immortal... so it was... until, a few droplets of rain broke the spell. It's uncanny how such a delicate allurement was able to create such a powerful feeling. Disenchanted but still enamored, I reached for her hand. As our fingers touched, we felt the ozone ionizing. Like a scene from a movie we might have shared, the radio played Lover's Concerto as the smell of rain and the caress of summer's breeze hinted nostalgia. While we were reminiscing about the future, Kelly Chen's haunted voice transmitted from the radio and escaped into the atmosphere, swimming up against the rain. It fought the electrical barrage of the incoming storm. Up and up it went, penetrating through clouds, breaking Earth's gravity well, it reached the freedom of space. While holding onto the promise that "everything will be just as wonderful," the song traveled through void and vacuum, grazing the meadows of nebulae and stars. For what might seemed to be forever, it broadcasted its notes as it echoed through the desert of space and time. Near journey's end, the mathematical equation of harmony still stayed true to itself even when it flirted with the spiral of a galaxy before entering the solar system. It aimed towards a blue planet, surrendering itself to the pull of gravity and, breaking into atmosphere. The song serenaded the clouds as it floated down in a wave like gentle rain. The melody reached a pair of antennae and softly whispered to it, "keep this day in your heart eternally." I like this fan made video more then the official one. Thanks to nalmun for the sweet video. Kelly Chen's Video Here is the original from the Toys. Be sure to check out FunkSoBrudda's channel. A collection of interesting vintage videos. 歌手:陳慧琳 How gentle is the rain, that falls softly on the meadow. Birds high up on the trees, serenade the clouds with their melodies.* Repeat * Oh! See there beyond the hill, the bright colors of the rainbow. Some magic from above. Made this day for us, just to fall in love. You'll hold me in your arms, and say once again you'll love me. And that your love is true, everything will be just as wonderful. Now, I belong to you, from this day until forever. Just love me tenderly and I'll give to you every part of me. Oh! Don't ever make me cry, through long lonely nights without us. Be always true to me, keep this day in your heart eternally. You hold me in your arms, and say once again you love me. And that your love is true, everything will be just as wonderful. |
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
R.I.P. Joe Frazier (1944-2011)
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GroggyBot
“You don’t win fights by talking. You win fights by fighting.” - "Smoking" Joe Frazier I'll just let the video do the talking: Thanks for sharing gigdrax! For more on Joe Frazier: Boxing legend Joe Frazier dies (ESPN) |
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
R.I.P. Ricky Hui (1946-2011)
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GroggyBot
難忘的許冠英 It's usually cool to be a fan of more than one pop culture. The benefits of having cross cultural fandom is being able to enjoy movies, music, and at the basis, culture in more than one language and perspective. Then there are times when it's tough. Twice the happiness, twice the sadness. With the passing of Joe Frazier and Ricky Hui (許冠英), it's a rough week already and it's only Tuesday! Ricky Hui passed away at age 65 on November 8, 2011 from a heart attack. Ricky is the middle of the Hui Brothers, Michael Hui (許冠文) being the oldest brother and Sam Hui (許冠傑) being the youngest. All three brothers changed the face of Hong Kong pop culture in the 70's and 80's using their talents as prolific writers, musicians and starred in a bunch of movies. Ricky was not in the media spot light as much as Michael and Sam. He said that he was very shy and that is the reason why he doesn't do more movies and sing as much as his other brothers. You might remember him in Jackie Chan's(成龍) Project A (A 計劃續集). It didn't matter if he had a small role or a fleeting cameo, Ricky Hui was a lot of fun to watch and he made a lasting impression in Chinese Cinema and enriched Chinese Pop Culture. 多謝許冠英! More Ricky Hui videos after the "JUMP!" |
Monday, November 7, 2011
MORTAL KOMBAT!
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GroggyBot
Hello Youtubes! This is a very special edition of "Hello Youtubes!" This can not wait. It must be shared now! I'm actually jealous that these guys thought of this first instead of me: Well done... well done... |
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Warping Time (sort of)
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GroggyBot
Hello Youtubes! Over here in the U.S. we are at the end of Daylight Saving Time and returning to Standard Time. It means we turn our clocks back one hour (fall back, spring forward). The way I see it, I get an extra hour of sleep or, I'm time traveling back an hour and with that hour gained, I get a second chance at something or another. Kind of like Back to the Future. Which by coincidence, the flux capacitor was conceived by Doc Brown on November 5, 1955 and we turn our clocks back at 2am on November 6th hmm (eyebrow raised)? If only I can figure out what it is I want a second chance at. Anyway, on the subject of warping time... as we turn our clocks back, it's kind of like time traveling and isn't that like folding time? Kind of like how the Battlestar, Galactica warp space and time as it "jumps?" I'm really REACHING here! I just want to make a connection with turning the clocks back and how the composer for Battlestar Galactica, Bear McCreary finds exciting ways to "warp" his music. Bear McCreary is the most exciting composer working in television right now. Aside from Battlestar Galactica, you can also find his music on The Walking Dead. Check out the video below as he plays the entire composition of "Prelude to War" on an accordion. A frakking accordion! I wonder if Steve Urkel has that type of accordion skill? The original "Prelude to War" composition: Bear McCreary also has a blog. He updates it regularly and talks about how he comes up with ideas on his music. If you like Battlestar Galactica, The Walking and Human Target I highly recommend checking out his blog: Bear McCreary Official Site And if you are a fan of Daylight Saving Time: Daylight Saving Time |
Friday, November 4, 2011
100 Possibilities
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GroggyBot
100 樣可能 The good old 90's... 1997 to be exact. When the 4 Kings reigned over Hong Kong pop and Hong Kong itself faced uncertainty as they were being handed back to China. Literally, Hong Kong was facing 100 possibilities at the time. I remember hearing this song on an AM broadcast that was organized by some MIT Asian students. As they gave me a slice of Asian culture every night for an hour. I hope I can give you a slice of Asian culture from time to time on this blog. Mostly 90's Asian culture. I don't know much of the new stuff. I'm an old man. 100 樣可能 (100 Possibilities) was first released on one of Leon Lai's (黎明) EP's in 1997. The CD or cassette tape single (MP3's were still trying to catch on) was appropriately named Leon's... Leon Lai is one of the 4 pop kings (四大天王) in Hong Kong during the 90's. He was criticized for his mediocre singing and acting abilities. I'd always find that a bit harsh. I like his music. He has a classic tone, a melancholy to his voice which gives a retro vibe. He does extremely well with some of his more bluesy songs. I'd always believe that they are sort of a throw back to the 60's and 70's era of Chinese music. There is no mistake that Leon belongs in the pantheon of Hong Kong's pop culture. With a ton of music awards and numerous nominations for his acting, you can say he is good at what he does. Even here in the U.S., you might not recognize his name or face but, if you are remotely interested in Chinese culture, most likely you'd heard his music or watched one of his movies. I'm a little long winded and a lot nostalgic tonight. That MIT radio broadcast which ran during 11pm or was it12am? In any case, it's 12am here and I guess sometimes, with the right trigger, the past can catch up to us. Tonight's trigger is 100 樣可能 (100 Possibilities). So, step through that time tunnel with me into the late 90's and sit back, enjoy the video, the cheesy 90's morph effects and the pretty girl or the pretty Leon. Thanks to MrAriesy 歌手:黎明 作曲:劉諾生 填詞:周耀輝 編曲:劉敦 內內外外 從來沒有過記載 愛到要超出一般人人認識的愛 自自在在 能同時向你說愛 卻分開 沒有不應該 在現在 活在後現代 我叫你 蓋上你眼蓋 將身心 超出能承受的感慨 越另外 越是後現代 要去到最遠和最外 讓意識張開 不知怎麼抑制 要超過一切 記得愛得美麗 別理會慣例 轉載來自 魔鏡歌詞網 甚至令到自己 要超過一切的世人 然後 ya-ah-ya-ah.... Say You Say You Love Me 超出親與近 Say You Say You Love Me 超出真與實 Say You Say You Love Me 即刻的愛人 Say You Say You Love Me 超出一百樣可能 |
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Doctor Who: The Ballad of Russell and Julie
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GroggyBot
"Let's Do It!" John Barrowman, Catherine Tate and David Tennant teams up for something that might be more extraordinary than the Doctor Donna It's been 33 days since Series 6's finale. Again Who's counting? (see what I did there?) Luckily we don't have too much of a wait between Series 6 and 7. There will be a Doctor Who Christmas Special on... guess which day it will air... Christmas Day! In the mean time, I do what I always do and get my Doctor Who fix on youtube. But for Doctor Who: The Ballad of Russell and Julie, I found this gem on a site I visit everyday: Topless Robot This tribute to Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner was done for David Tennant's wrap party as the 10th Doctor. It celebrates the fantastic regeneration of the classic show. The music is from Victoria Wood's "Let's Do It" and the lyrics were rewritten for Russell and Julie. Check it out: Thank you GuarroRock for sharing! Here's the original version of "Let's Do It": Thanks KevMull for this one. The lyrics for both songs are after the "JUMP!" |
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