Learn Chinese - German Speakers! A question -

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German Speakers! A question
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doumeizhen -

I'm working on an English-German translation of a manual involving Chinese, and I just found out
that I have no idea how to say "radical", as in, the parts that combine to make characters. Does
anyone want to help a damsel in distress and tell me?

Thanks!



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gougou -

You should know that anglophones are not the most innovative of speakers, the word radical is a
mean IPR infringement of the German Radikal.












doumeizhen -

Haha. You're kidding! Perhaps this is ultimate proof that gesandwichtes Deutsch might actually
work. Thank you!










芳芳 -

ya das stimmt.....

a radical is "ein Radikal", or more precisly : das Radikal, die Radikale.

Comme quoi...










mr.stinky -

"das radikal"....wasn't that a book by marx?










PeterMUC -

Very close. Marx wrote "Das Kapital" (Capital). But I never read it *g*










doumeizhen -

Thanks guys!

芳芳~ Thanks for pointing that out! I hadn't thought about that, as I was numbering them, but
that is good to know. I'm not used to writing in Germany anymore, so I found myself reading these
very long sentences backwards just to make sure all of my words were in the right case and
gender... 好麻烦！I guess its a fair trade off for being able to use sentences that long,
though!

For the rest of you, I remembered this e-mail that was sent to me a while back. Let's make the
post a little more fun!

What a Thoughtful Government Will Be Doing

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official
language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room
for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants
jump with joy.

The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan
have one less letter.

here will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be
replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new pelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where
more komplikated changes are possible.

Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to
akurate speling.

Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should
go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz
yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl riten styl.

Zer vil be no mor trubl ordifikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of
a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.
If zis mad you smil, pleas pas on to oza pepl.










horas -

*

IMO the word radical and the German word Radikal both originated from the Latin 'radix' meaning
root.
So 'a radical change' sort of means 'a change from the roots' (upwards) - total change.

- Das Radikal (German) only means 'radical' (English) for terms in math and chemistry!

- For the word 'radical' meaning part of a Chinese character, you can use:

Ordnungszeichen (used in West Germany)
Klassenzeichen (used in East Germany)

of course those differences were caused by the separation of both Germanies (1949 -1990) and
language terms used were different in both states.


Below some online free dictionaries E-G & G-E:

http://dict.leo.org/

http://www.iee.et.tu-dresden.de/cgi-...nerr/search.sh


-










芳芳 -

Horas, thanks for your corrections on good use of german words

As for simplification of english spelling, zimmt, I wouldn't have thought
Pro-SMS-SpellingAssociation was such a powerfull european lobby.










danqi -

"- Das Radikal (German) only means 'radical' (English) for terms in math and chemistry!

- For the word 'radical' meaning part of a Chinese character, you can use:

Ordnungszeichen (used in West Germany)
Klassenzeichen (used in East Germany)"

I am afraid I've got to disagree. At my University and in all the literature I remember having
used, "das Radikal" is the only commonly used word to describe a chinese radical, that I've come
across.












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Pnyin - japanese verbs/particles - Page 2 -

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japanese verbs/particles
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nipponman -



Quote:


Originally Posted by yingguoguy

But da isn't generally considered to be a verb but the copula. It shows the tense and politeness
level of sentences when these are not indicated by the verb or (for tense only) the i-adjective.
Although it's usually translated into English at 'to be', it's not actually a verb and the English
rule that all sentences must have a verb isn't true in Japanese.


To linguists yes, but to most learners the distinction between a copula and a verb isn't that
visible/important. For example, in "He would be the first one to ask...", is "be" a verb or a
copula? The answer is a copula, does anyone care? Not really.



Quote:


Originally Posted by yingguoguy

My point was that it's bad practice to think of group 1 -i/eru verbs as being exceptional in the
sense of assuming that any -i/eru verb is in group 2 unless it appears on a list of a exceptions
that you've specially memorized, as it'll probably end up being quite a long list, and whenever
you hit a verb, you'll waste time trying to remember if it's on the list or not.
It's also, I think, a bad idea to memorize in the form (帰る is group 1),(食べる is group 2)
but rather (帰る、帰った,帰ります),(食べる,食べた,食べます), partly for the
same reasons it's bad to try and remember Chinese tones by their numbers, but mainly because it
speeds up most conjugating most forms. You shouldn't have to think about groups in conversation.


You are aruging from a learners perspective, while i'm arguing from a technical perspective, as
such we're both arguing over semantics. Fact of the matter is I agree that you shouldn't memorize
groups in that way, just be aware that they exist. I'm sure you must admit though, that the group
explanation works wonders for why 帰るconjugates differently than代える.



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yingguoguy -



Quote:

To linguists yes, but to most learners the distinction between a copula and a verb isn't that
visible/important. For example, in "He would be the first one to ask...", is "be" a verb or a
copula? The answer is a copula, does anyone care? Not really.

In the English language you're right, in fact I'll be honest and say I've not idea what copula
means when referring to English grammar. However when studying Japanese grammar one of my first
questions was "What going on with this desu then? Is it a verb or what?" One of the key moments in
learning Japanese is realizing the purpose of "de/desu" in a sentance, and why for example
"samukatta desu" and "samukunai desu" make sense and "samui deshita" and "samui ja arimasen"
don't, rather than just seeing them as arbitary rules.



Quote:

You are aruging from a learners perspective, while i'm arguing from a technical perspective, as
such we're both arguing over semantics. Fact of the matter is I agree that you shouldn't memorize
groups in that way, just be aware that they exist. I'm sure you must admit though, that the group
explanation works wonders for why 帰るconjugates differently than代える.

Sorry don't mistake my meaning, of course learners should be aware what the word groups are. When
learning a new verb you need these to calculate the various verb forms anyway. My meaning was
rather than working from the dictionary form and the group number to get the -ta form, you should
memorize the dictionary and -ta form and work backwards to get the group number, as and when you
need it.












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Chinese Online Class - www.ctrip.com -

> Studying, Working and Living in China > Living in China
www.ctrip.com
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Adrian -

Should I use www.ctrip.com to book my flights before I enter China?

I need to book at least five one way tickets to travel around China. I wondering should I book
them online using my credit card before I enter China?

If I book them while in each city, then maybe I will not get the flights I would prefer.

Thanks



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Josh-J -

Well if you have your schedule planned out, I'd have thought it would make sense to book it all in
advance unless you want to face (as you said) possibly not having the right flights available or
you want the experience.
I've booked all my flights in advance, though not through ctrip. Since I've also booked all my
accomodation in various places in advance as well, I wouldn't want to be stuck somewhere unable to
get the flight I need at short notice.










Adrian -

I got 5 weeks to go before my China trip. If I book with such places as ctrip.com or elong.com do
they send out the tickets to Australia or do I just print out the email (if they send any) and
give it to the hotel/airline on arrival?

Thanks mate.










okay_lah! -

Hi, just check with ctrip's customer service. I have previously received prompt responses to my
queries to them (through email using English).

Good luck










Adrian -

That is fantastic news.

I try to look on their web site for an email address. I can not find a suitable one.

Would you be able to supply their email address please?

Thanks.










johnd -

Try this page:

http://english.ctrip.com/Public/contact.asp










okay_lah! -

Hi, you might want to look at this one as well:

http://english.ctrip.com/community/qa/qa.asp










Adrian -

Thank you so much!












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Chinese School - Pronunciation of "w" and "r" - Page 2 -

> Learning Chinese > Speaking and Listening
Pronunciation of "w" and "r"
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Mugi -



Quote:

The 'w' -> 'v' thing is definitely a regional variation. My wife is from Changchun and does it too

It even occurs in Taiwan! My Taiwanese teacher (early 30s) says that when she was at school she
was told to pronounce [w] as [ʋ] for all words that would have an "a" or "e" following the "w" in
pinyin. I've noticed some Taiwanese TV news presenters use this pronunciation before, but I don't
know how prevalent it is.

I don't have the reference on hand, but can recall reading some research on [ʋ] in Beijing
dialect. If my memory serves me right, it's much more predominant among (young) women than men,
and has gained in popularity since the 1980s, perhaps due to the popularization of TVs. (It's not
actually a true "v" [v], but rather a "soft v" [ʋ] (labiodental approximant))



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roddy -

I've heard this occassionally, but

Quote:

pronounce [w] as [ʋ] for all words that would have an "a" or "e" following the "w" in pinyin.

is the first time I've seen any kind of rule. Interesting.










Mugi -

I'll try and dig up the reference I have for this (however, I'm in the process of shifting house
at the moment, so it may be a month before I can find the right box! )










melop -

I guess [w] and [v] is not strictly distinguished in Chinese dialects, that's why some Chinese
people find it difficult to learn languages that distinguish them. Most of the time I would say
[w], I find myself seldom say [v].

r is a retroflex sound just like English, actually the mandarin [r] was evovled from middle
Chinese's [j] sound, that's why many dialects keep using [j](like Cantonese) instead of the
retroflex [r].










stephanhodges -



Quote:

r is a retroflex sound just like English

My understanding is that English "r" uses the tip of the tongue much more, and Mandarin uses the
sides (edges) of the tongue, with tip relatively relaxed.










melop -

em... Yeah, that's right. Actually the English r is follow by a lighten "w" sound, [rw]. Anyway, I
remember these two sounds are written the same in IPA method.

But compared to Rs in other languages, the mandarin r and English r are very similar I think.










in_lab -

Are there some words that are never pronounced with a "v"? When I imagine someone saying "ven yi
ge venti" I imagine a german or a transylvanian.










melop -

I haven't noticed much people pronounce "问一个问题" as "ven yi ge ven ti", usually we use
the "w" sound here. But since there's no "v" sound in Mandarin, maybe some people would prefer to
say a "v" sound I guess.










Roee -

The "w" and "v" pronunciation issue is definitely caused by influence of the local dialect, very
similar to mixup of "zh" and "z" in many areas of China.












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Chinese School - New Cantonese Input Method Software -

> Learning Chinese > Chinese Computing and Technology
New Cantonese Input Method Software
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Shusaku -

I recently developed a simple Cantonese input method which supports both the Yale and Jyutping
romanization systems (there is a Mandarin pinyin mode as well). I originally wrote this program
for my own personal use but decided to make it freely available since I felt that other Cantonese
speakers and learners might also find it useful. The program is Java based and should run on any
OS with a Java runtime environment.

If anybody would like to try this program, it can be downloaded from:

http://home.comcast.net/~jbmbweb/cantoinput/index.html

Please let me know if you find this useful!



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Shusaku -

Update:

I just finished a new version of CantoInput (1.01) with compound word support. The included
mapping files contain all of the 2 and 3 character words from CEDICT. The program is now available
for download.










Chongtak -

Hello I've been waiting for cantonese IME for sooo long!
I've just downloaded it but I don't find any executable file inside the archive. Did I skip
something? I have Java last version istalled on my system (XP) and many chinese fonts as well.
Could you give me a hint on the way to use it?
Thank you in advance.

PS : excuse my english I'm living in France and not confortable with english sometimes.










self-taught-mba -

Wow. This is huge news! if it works well it could completely undermine the arguement against
Cantonese due to computer compatibility issues. Black helicopters (with red stars) will be
hovering outside your home.

Hope my Cantonese gets to where I can actually try it. I am a newbie.










Quest -

It downloads as .zip in IE. I changed it to .jar and it still wouldn't run... I must of deleted my
java libraries. This looks interesting, can you make it a windows executable? (edit: I downloaded
the JRE libraries, now it works.)

It's a neat little program, you've done a great job! Suggestions to follow though, if possible,
that in addition to the standard romanization methods, you give an option to let the user define
their own spellings, which can be mapped to the standard spellings, sort of like a "custom method"
that can be built by the user by changing the spellings in a standard pronunciation table (table
can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyutping). A user like me, who's totally
unfamiliar with the "standard" Cantonese spellings can bring up the table and edit the
fields/spellings for each sound to match his own "intuition". For example, I would think the
standard Jyutping for 水 "seoi" is too long and less intuitive to me, and would like to replace
it with "sui", so next time I type "sui" the software will bring up all the words previously
associated with "seoi". To prevent users from setting same spellings for different sounds, you
could add a uniqueness check before letting the user save his pronunciation table. Something like
an "input-jyutping.utf-8" editor, in a tabular format that can be brought up within the program.
Also, it would be great if this could be made an IME. It looks promising, keep up the great work!










Shusaku -

Thanks for the feedback, Quest. Now that you mention it, there was one other user who also told me
that IE renames CantoInput.jar to CantoInput.zip - technically these are the same format, but I
have no idea why IE would do this as it then needs to be renamed back to CantoInput.jar in order
for users to start it by double-clicking. At any rate, I decided to just package CantoInput.jar
inside a ZIP file so that users won't need to worry about renaming the file after using IE to
download it - they can just extract the ZIP and now they'll see the executable JAR.










atitarev -

Great tool, Shusaku! I've been looking for it for some time. I also replied to you in the
Cantonese forum.

Is it possible to add characters and have the characters in a file separate fromthe package file?
For example, a Cantonese specific character (defined in Hong Kong Cantonese specific character
set), which can't be displayed in some browsers (but can be used in a MS Word document, if you
have the Hong Kong character set installed) for "lift", pronounced lip1 (Unicode:U+4882), which
looks like 車 + 立 (together). There are plenty of others.

Is your code an open source? Do you mind sharing the code with me, please.

I recently wrote a simple one way Hangul conversion tool in C#.Net - it romanises a Korean text,
written in Korean. It only works one way for the moment because of the issues of converting double
consonants and diphtongs, need for character delimiter, etc.

Can offer you this if interested in return.

EDIT:

Attached the file with the "lift" character, if the file is not displayed correctly, you need to
download support for Cantonese.










Shusaku -

Atitarev - No, it isn't yet possible to define character mappings outside those .utf-8 files that
you see inside the jar file. You can edit those if you want for now, but eventually I'd like to
add a more user-friendly way of doing this.

I didn't bother doing anything with those HKSCS-specific characters like the "lift" character. I
generally avoid using these seeing as so few people have their system set up to support this
character set. I did add support for the most common Cantonese colloquial characters (i.e. 哋,
嘅, 嗰, 啲, etc.) since most people can see these without installing extra software.

Sorry, the code isn't open source. I may open it up later after I've had time to clean things up a
bit.










roddy -

Geocities in blocked from China, and has been for years. If you are hoping to get any significant
user base in China, you might want to set up a mirror elsewhere.










Shusaku -

The CantoInput download page has changed (see original post for new address). Hopefully it won't
be moving for a while now. Please update your bookmarks. Thanks!












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Learning Chinese - Taiwan United States and China and how I almost got killed -

> Studying, Working and Living in China > Living in China > Teaching English in
China
Taiwan United States and China and how I almost got killed
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ask_weasal -

Today I told my students to jot down three things they dislike about America. One major issue that
kept coming up was Taiwan. usually my students are not interested in talking about anything they
just sit there like stone statues. So....me being the man I am I decided to spice things up. I
said....Taiwan should be it's own seperate country. In all honesty I don't care where Taiwan goes.
It won't put food in my future children's mouths.I just did this to create a spark. The students
just went hysterical and one started crying and preaching. I asked her why did she think China
should have Taiwan. She said......Because Taiwan is Chinese! and I am Chinese!!! I told her to
give me another reason other than the fact that she's Chinese. She said the other is because of
history which she wrongly assumed(and most wrongly assume I know nothing about) I knew nothing
about. She said it was a culture thing that I could never understand.

1)One thing that I find very difficult being a teacher in China is that students are not willing
to open up and talk about sensitive issues. Another thing is that I always get the " You don't
understand our culture so shut your mouth"
I mean this is the reason why I am here to try and understand. Why not explain the reason to me? I
have all the time in the world this is why we are here aren't we? It seems like we are always
limited to our devices to telling stories of dating women/men, drinking and joking in which
perpetuates a bland stereotype of the naive foriegner. Information is power...and it is something
that I have difficulty getting from Chinese people. Whenever I want to know something sensitive
about China I have to go read a book or ask a foriegner.

2) In China I sense a huge impact of nationalism. I think it's to a point where it is just too
much and it becomes something else. I remember there was one instance I read about in an article
about a 1989 incident that happend in Nanjing dealing with Africans. suppsosidly some Africans
that went to the university were demonstrating unfavorable behavior...i.e...dating more than one
girl, loud music, rumors of rape. A fight between a Chinese security guard and a black man
escaleted because of a new rule that stated blacks should sign in their chinese female guest and
that these guest were only allowed to be in the lobby. A rumor got around that A Chinese was
killed. It quickly escaleted into a mass riot and protest and Chinese from all over Nanjing ran
the Africans out of the university towards the train station. Signs of "black devils" and "We want
a pure culture" were displayed.
It seems that this is a trend in China especially when it comes to Japan(I know the history of
that too)

I tried to get them to understand that this is a problem between governments. This is not a people
problem. Most students have the wrong opinon about Americans as being some kind of imperialistic
country. The fact is that the government is imperialistic not the people. Most Americans probaly
couldn't point to Taiwan on the map if it didn't have the name placed on it. People don't care
really. The Chinese got Hong Kong back but in the end does getting Hong Kong or Macao or any other
place put food in your mouth? Does it fatten the average Chinese person's wallet?

Two years ago I had a Chinese girlfriend and I was job hunting in Dalian. At one of the schools
that I was applying for the boss was a Taiwanese woman. Immediatly there was a strong feeling of
uncomfortableness between the two. the Taiwanese woman told me that my girlfriend should wait
outside which I thought was very strange at the time. This is when it is made into a people
problem because of government minipulation and propagizing from all governments.

Slavery, South African Apartheid or the new problem of Immigration is a problem of the people. It
effects ordinary people's (especially the poor) wallets and living conditions. The Taiwan problem
doesn't. Why are the people so adament about whether they will get it back or not? It won't
benefit them or us as ordinary folks at all.

Most don't seem to agree with this theory, mostly because of nationalistic pride which is very
very strong in China. I think that this pride should be lessened to a small degree so that people
can talk about it without attempting to kill each other over it.

In conclusion my point is don't let the government control your thinking and desires. You yourself
should control what you think. When you get angry make sure you know why you are angry because I
don't see this Taiwan thing benefitting any ordinary Chinese, American, Japanese or Taiwanese.
It's only the rich people that win in the end if we keep this up.

Randall



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About Ads (and how to hide them) -- Your message here









roddy -

Moving to the correct forum.

Frankly your job as (I presume) an English teacher is to improve their English, not encourage
discussion of 'sensitive topics'. They wouldn't do that in any other class, why expect them to do
it in yours?










Long Zhiren -

Are you sure that you understand?
Here's a quick quiz.
To which nation and people do the contents of the Palace Museum in Taipei belong? Why?
What country's flag flies over Taiwan?
What country's flag was displayed on the jackets and planes of the Flying Tigers?
For which countries were the Flying Tigers flying?
Is it now as clear as mud which country is on Taiwan?










gougou -



Quote:

I tried to get them to understand that this is a problem between governments. This is not a people
problem.

I agree, Randall, but I think if as a teacher you address a class, you'll have a lot of trouble
having sensible discussions, as you might be misinterpreted as the American who comes to China to
missionize (would that be misinterpreted, in fact?).

But I experienced that when talking to friends, one on one, they would voluntarily tell me that
they probably would have no problem at all befriending Japanese (or whichever other country we
spoke about), that in fact it was just the government that they had a problem with.










wushijiao -

I think the general issue to be aware of is that the classroom in Western academia is a space in
which people can intelligently discuss and analyze sensitive or controversial issues with complete
freedom. This is just not the case in China. In China, the realm in which people discuss anything
controversial is in private, or behind closed doors. It has sometimes amazed me how eloquently
students can discuss complicated issues like Taiwan/Japanese history in their second language, but
it will only happen in private.

Also, I think the Socratic method of teaching, in which the teacher questions the students and
hones the logic of their arguments, simply is doomed to failure in China. Instead, the teacher is
more seen in a Confucian light: a wise and learned scholar for the students to emulate, with
little direct questioning. Both systems have their drawbacks.

Personally, as an English teacher, I try to avoid the sensitive issues in class, especially
Taiwan. If you teach writing, you can always use other controversial issues as catalysts to form
solid writing skills.

I think I understand your frustration Randall, minus the racism. I love discussing politics,
literature, sociology…etc, so I was extremely disappointed and disillusioned when I first
started teaching in China and these topics seemed to have no appeal. If you need “intellectual
stimulation” to not go crazy, the trick is, I think, to shift all your focus towards EFL. I
think reading books about problems in the classroom, language theory…etc, can really help. If
you can see your teaching mainly from the student’s point of view of “how is this improving my
English ability”, then I think teaching will become less frustrating.

Anyway, I hope that helps.










gato -



Quote:

Also, I think the Socratic method of teaching, in which the teacher questions the students and
hones the logic of their arguments, simply is doomed to failure in China.

I've seen it work. Hehe.

As for "sensitive" topic, gougou is right. You can't expect your students to open up to you like
that in public. What if there are spies?!










wushijiao -



Quote:

I've seen it work. Hehe.

Well, maybe with a class that has a very high degree of English competence and some prior
experience with foreign teaching methods and a teacher better than me , then perhaps I could see
it working out.










DrinkDrankDrunk -

I agree with Roddy. No offense, but it is unprofessional for a teacher to be blatantly biased on
such a controversial issue in front of his/her students. In the classroom, your role is to
educate, not to gain cultural/political insight from the students. It is no different in the
"west". If you're seeking constructive discussions/insights about chinese culture and politics,
your chinese colleagues or this forum are much more appropriate venues for you to pursue. I'm sure
that everyone here will be more than happy to answer any of your inquiries.

Man, I need to post less and read more. What I wrote was already stated above heh.










mr.stinky -

and taiwan should be independant because....

....you just don't care?










geraldc -

If you really wanted to impress your bosses, you should create a lesson plan allowing your
students to express in English why Taiwan is an integral part of China

In China, you tend to expect your teacher to be right all the time. So a teacher going off on how
Taiwan should be independent would be a big shock. It really won't have helped your students view
of you.












All times are GMT +8. The time now is 05:14 PM.














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Study Chinese - Spears says umbrella attack was acting, not anger

ENTERTAINMENT / Gossip






Spears says umbrella attack was acting, not anger

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-07-06 08:50





Britney Spears in a November 2006 photo. Spears on Thursday explained why
she furiously attacked a car with an umbrella -- she was rehearsing for a
movie role. [Reuters]

When all else fails in Hollywood, blame it on "method acting." Pop star
Britney Spears on Thursday explained why she furiously attacked a car
with an umbrella -- she was rehearsing for a movie role.

As the former pop princess reinvents her career after a failed marriage,
a stint in rehabilitation and panty-less pictures taken in public, Spears
posted a note on her Web site, www.britneyspears.com, apologizing to the
paparazzi for the umbrella-bashing incident, calling it a "stunt."

"I was preparing my character for a roll (sic) in a movie where the
husband never plays his part so they switch places accidentally," the
25-year-old wrote. "I take all my rolls (sic) very seriously and got a
little carried away."

"Unfortunately I didn't get the part," she added.

Method acting is a technique in which performers prepare for upcoming
roles by immersing themselves in the real-life habits, experiences,
emotions and thoughts of a character.

Back in February, the mother-of-two repeatedly struck a sport utility
vehicle with an umbrella shortly before returning to a substance-abuse
treatment center for the third time in a week, ultimately remaining in
rehab for at least a month.

Her rehabilitation stint followed a spree of high-profile partying and
other erratic behavior, such as shaving off her hair. Upon leaving in
March she completed a divorce agreement with aspiring rapper and father
of her sons, Kevin Federline.

Spears is trying to stage a comeback, performing for the first time in
more than three years in May with a series of 15-minute shows at various
nightclubs and reportedly working on her fifth album.










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Chinese Character - Brad Pitt to reprise Steve McQueen's role in 'Bullitt' remake

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






Brad Pitt to reprise Steve McQueen's role in 'Bullitt' remake

(ANI)
Updated: 2007-07-04 16:30


Actor Brad Pitt is reportedly set to star in the remake of 1968 thriller
Bullitt.

The 43-year-old will play Lt Frank Bullitt, played by actor Steve McQueen
in the original flick.

According to a source, it will be a 'dream role' for the Ocean��s
Thirteen actor for he shares many passions with the legendary actor.

"rad shares a lot of the same passions as Steve McQueen -- including a
love of motorbikes and fast cars �� so it was a dream role for him,"the
Sun quoted the source, as saying.

The actor has been linked to the project since 2003, but it was delayed
then.

Bullitt is most remembered for its central car chase scene through the
streets of downtown San Francisco, one of the earliest and most
influential car chase sequences in movies.








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Learn Chinese - Lynne Spears hopeful of reunion with Britney

ENTERTAINMENT / Gossip






Lynne Spears hopeful of reunion with Britney

(WENN)
Updated: 2007-07-03 14:32


Britney Spears' mother, Lynne, is hopeful the pair will reconcile
soon--and insists "everything is going to be fine" between the pair.

The "Toxic" star and her mom's relationship has been strained since the
singer entered rehab earlier this year. Britney is believed to be angry
at her family and former manager Larry Rudolph for 'pushing' her into the
treatment center.

On Thursday, Britney was photographed handing a piece of paper to Lynne
on the set of her sister Jamie Lynn's TV show Zoey 101, which is believed
to be a letter asking Lynne to stay away from her grandsons Sean Preston,
21 months, and Jayden James, nine months.

Despite the troubles between mother and daughter, Lynne says, "Everything
is going to be fine. I've got a strong family, and everything is going to
be fine."

Meanwhile, Spears told reporters outside Los Angeles sushi house Unico on
Sunday, "I'm praying for her right now. (I hope) she gets all the help
she needs."

When asked if the pair could overcome their problems, Britney added, "In
time, who knows what will happen."









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Chinese Speaking - Cameron Diaz named in magician split

ENTERTAINMENT / Gossip






Cameron Diaz named in magician split

(WENN)
Updated: 2007-07-02 09:47





Cameron Diaz

Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz has been named as the 'other woman' in
divorce papers served to celebrity magician Criss Angel by his 'secret'
wife.

The split comes just a month after Angel, 39, denied a relationship with
Diaz, 34, in spite of the pair being spotted out on the town in Las Vegas.

A legal rep for estranged wife Joanne Sarantakos, who is said to have
hired a private investigator to track Angel's activities, says, "We're
naming Cameron Diaz as his lover. We will subpoena her as soon as she
comes back to New York."

It is also claimed that Sarantakos, 37, was made to keep her five-year
marriage to the magic man a secret in order to boost his appeal to female
fans.

Angel, who shot to fame on the Broadway sensation Mindfreak, has just
signed a $200 million casino show contract in Las Vegas.

A spokesperson for Diaz responded saying, "Cameron and Criss met in May
of this year. They went on four dates over a month ago, and do not have
any romantic relationship currently."








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Learn mandarin - Cameron Diaz wrapped up for "Box" thriller

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






Cameron Diaz wrapped up for "Box" thriller

(AP)
Updated: 2007-06-29 08:35





Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz has entered "The Box," a horror thriller set for a November
start in Virginia.

The story focuses on an unhappy married couple who receive a small wooden
box on their doorstep. At the push of a button, the box brings its bearer
instant wealth but also instantly kills someone the bearer doesn't know.

Richard Kelly ("Donnie Darko") is directing from his adaptation of a
Richard Matheson short story, "Button, Button," that was the basis of a
well-remembered "Twilight Zone" episode from the 1980s.

The independently financed movie will be in the $30 million dollar range.

Diaz reprised the voice of Princess Fiona for "Shrek the Third" and last
appeared on the big screen in "The Holiday."









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Study Chinese - Britney Spears shopping in Beverly Hill

ENTERTAINMENT / Most Viewed Photos in 72 Hours






Britney Spears shopping in Beverly Hill


Updated: 2007-06-27 10:39








1 2 3 4 5 6 7







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Speak Chinese - Taking on the big boys

CITYLIFE / what's on










Taking on the big boys

(That's beijing)
Updated: 2007-06-25 11:03



With a few days to go before the release of his latest film The Longest
Night in Shanghai, director Zhang Yibai was asked to predict the box
office takings. "I really don't know," the director said flippantly,
slouching back in his chair. "The more the better, of course."

Zhang was less frivolous though, when he talked about competing with
Hollywood films. This summer his film is expected to go up against big
budget monsters like Pirates of the Caribbean III and The Transformers.

He believes that cinema-goers should have more choices besides these
blockbusters. "Our film takes up just a small portion in the cinemas, but
we are pretty confident that it will make people think," Zhang said.

In fact, the director didn't think too much about the market when he
started work on his third film. "The process of making the film has been
the most relaxing I have ever had," recalled Zhang. "Every part of the
production team worked well and I really enjoyed the days of shooting at
Shanghai."

A veteran TV and music video director, the 39-year old teamed up with
filmmaking groups from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan to bring the story of
an encounter between a Japanese hair stylist with a Chinese woman taxi
driver in the modern metropolis of Shanghai.

A lost Japanese stylist (Masahiro Motoki) is plagued by doubts about his
emotional life, his work and his future. His world changes when he meets
an equally troubled female taxi driver Lin Xi (Zhao Wei), one dazzlingly
beautiful night in Shanghai.

The characters in the film bypass their language barrier and forge a
tender kind of love as they search for their own identities. As well as
dealing with the complications of modern love, the film makes full use of
the hilarity generated by the language barriers between the two. The
Longest Night in Shanghai depicts the relationship that develops between
two strangers from a third person perspective.

"There are many things I want to say in the film," said Zhang. "The
loneliness of staying at an unfamiliar city, the communication between
strangers and also the exploration of selfhood."

Zhang is familiar with telling stories with big city backgrounds, like in
his debut movie Spring Subway, set in Beijing, and his second hit
Curiosity Kills the Cat, set in Chongqing.

"I was not born in a big city," said he. "I have the experience of
leaving my hometown and struggling in a totally strange environment, so I
have different feelings and perspectives towards big cities."

In the new film, Zhang set the story in modern Shanghai and the whole
story takes place over one night.

"You can see the city Shanghai as another character in the film, which,
the same as the two leading roles, has its own expressions," he said. "We
captured the sunset, the resting Shanghai and also the early sunrise. The
city rises and falls with the emotional changes of the characters. It
witnesses their stories."

Zhang was also full of praise for his leading actress Zhao Wei. "I think
that is Zhao's best performance," he said.

Zhao described her own role as that of "a sweet heart concealed inside a
tough exterior". For her performance in the film, she was awarded the
most popular actress at the 14th Beijing Student Film Festival in April.

The director told Zhao to be a "love fool" while acting. "Lots of people
criticized her with her shallow acting in previous TV plays and films,
but I think her acting is natural and relaxed," he said. Zhao portrays
the role as a person not in control of her emotions or career, always
wearing wrong buttons, without makeup and secretly admiring an employee
in a car repair workshop (played by Dylan Guo). Just to meet her loved
one, she often intentionally rams and damages her car, to have an excuse
to go to the repair workshop.

"Once I saw the script, I had the feeling that I knew this girl, I knew I
can act well, and also had a wide range of expressions," said the
actress. She has only one image in the whole movie, without changing
attire or hairstyle, but Zhao likes this kind of simplicity.
"Communicating mainly by body language is interesting," she said.

To capture the night of Shanghai, the director asked Zhao to drive all
night long. All the shooting was carried out in the night, while in the
daytime, the team slept.

The actress was impressed with the city's beauty by night. "Shanghai is
like a surrealistic animated movie after dark," recalled Zhao. "When I
drove on the highway with many buildings one after another passing by, I
noticed there were marvelous changes in the colors of the sky; the blue
color at the crack of the dawn is very different from the one we usually
see."

All the songs played in the film are in English. "You have Chinese,
Japanese and English languages in one film. That is unique," Zhang said.

Compared to the darker tones of his previous two films, this one is
relaxing and funny. "You can say I made a break-through, but I just want
to tell different stories in my films," Zhang said.

The Longest Night in Shanghai will open on June 26 at cinemas citywide.
















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Learn Chinese - Starting in 2007-08, Sound designers will be recognized by Tony Awards

ENTERTAINMENT / Theater & Arts






Starting in 2007-08, Sound designers will be recognized by Tony Awards

(Playbill)
Updated: 2007-06-21 15:56



The 2007-08 season's productions will be eligible for the newly announced
categories. With the inclusion of these new categories, there will now be
a total of 27 competitive categories for which qualifying productions
will be in contention.

Celebrating their 62nd Anniversary, the 2008 Tony Awards will be
broadcast in a live three-hour ceremony on CBS-TV on a date to be
announced at a later time.

The Tonys are presented by the League of American Theatres and Producers
and the American Theatre Wing. At the League, Gerald Schoenfeld is
chairman and Charlotte St. Martin is executive director. At the Wing,
Sondra Gilman is chairman, Doug Leeds is president and Howard Sherman is
executive director.

For Tony Award Productions, Elizabeth I. McCann is managing producer and
Joey Parnes is coordinating producer.

Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss/White Cherry Entertainment are executive
producers of the 2008 Tony Awards. Weiss will also serve as director of
the 2008 Tony Awards.

The 2007 awards were held June 10 at Radio City Music Hall.

The official Tony Awards web site, www.TonyAwards.com, developed,
designed, and hosted by IBM, an official partner of the Tonys. News and
feature content is provided in cooperation with Playbill.com.









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Learn Chinese online - New standards for Smithsonian museums

ENTERTAINMENT / Theater & Arts






New standards for Smithsonian museums

(AP)
Updated: 2007-06-19 08:28


WASHINGTON - The Smithsonian Institution's governing board clamped down
Monday on how the museum complex conducts its business. The changes
followed Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small's resignation in March
amid criticism about his compensation and spending.

Under the changes, high-ranking executives at the museum complex will be
barred from serving on corporate boards. The Board of Regents also called
for the creation of a new chairman position, one that will interact with
Smithsonian leaders on a weekly basis.

In all, the board adopted 25 recommendations following a nearly
three-month review by its governance committee, which called for
increased oversight and transparency to conform with the best practices
of nonprofit organizations.

Small had served on two corporate boards, including the Chubb Group, one
of the Smithsonian's insurers, which paid him $169,675 last year in cash
and stock. Marriott International Inc. had also paid Small $208,000 in
direct pay, stock and other compensation in 2006 for serving on its board.

Deputy Secretary Sheila Burke has also sat on two corporate boards,
including Chubb, which paid her nearly $194,676 last year in cash and
stock. Burke resigned Monday, saying she believed the Smithsonian needed
new leadership.

"To avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest ... Smithsonian
senior executives shall not be permitted to serve on the board of a
for-profit company," the committee wrote.

"The Smithsonian is a great place, and it deserves the best governance,"
said Roger Sant, chairman of the board's executive committee. "We
continue to express real regret and accept responsibility for the lack of
strong oversight of the former secretary and the Smithsonian in general."

Sant said the board considered options ranging from modest changes to the
resignation of the entire board. But he said the board chose to reform
its practices.

"My first impression is this is a good start," said Sen. Charles
Grassley, R-Iowa, who has been critical of the Smithsonian's oversight
and business practices. "I appreciate the board's recognition that
business as usual is over and that a new era is in order."

A report due Wednesday from an independent panel that examined the
board's handling of Small's expenses will offer its own set of
recommendations.

Many board members did not know critical details of Small's employment
contract, and were unaware of tension between the Smithsonian museums and
its central administration over the past seven years, the committee found.

The report called for the creation of a Smithsonian Code of Ethics, a
unified compensation system for its federal and private trust fund
employees and a public forum each year to emphasize the board's openness
and "culture of accountability." The board pledged to follow the spirit
of the federal Freedom of Information Act for public information requests
and will create a policy for such disclosures.

The Smithsonian's 18 museums include the National Air and Space Museum,
the National Museum of American History and the National Museum of
Natural History. The National Zoo is also part of the Smithsonian, and a
19th museum devoted to black history is under development.

An internal audit in January found that Small had made $90,000 in
unauthorized expenses since 2000, including private jet travel and
expensive gifts. The audit also found that Small charged the Smithsonian
more than $1.1 million for agreeing to use his mansion in Washington's
affluent Woodley Park neighborhood for official functions.











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Chinese language - Tug-of-war with a stubborn old man

ENTERTAINMENT / Hot Pot Column






Tug-of-war with a stubborn old man

By Andrew London (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-06-14 14:27



What can you fit in two hours waiting for a train? How about a tussle
with a little old man and his mule? Maybe a succulent cow head for lunch?
Or you can always crash a wedding. What a way to end a weekend coastal
escape.

Standing by the side of a busy road in Qinhuangdao, the six of us had
caught cabs from the nearby seaside resort town of Beidaihe, a popular
holiday destination for foreigners. We were on our way back to Beijing,
and were hungry for lunch.

Qinhuangdao is a small coal and petroleum port city in Hebei Province and
worthy of exploration.

I saw a mule harnessed to an old wooden cart. Its bowed head, sad eyes
and knobbled legs showed signs of a weary animal that had resigned itself
to defeat after years of hauling vegetables.

A picture opportunity! First the mule, then, with his permission, its
owner. The man must have been pushing 70, but was still strong. I could
tell that as he gripped my arm as I said "thank you" and prepared to
leave. But he wouldn't let go. He was anxious. I was stunned. I gathered
he wanted a Polaroid picture from my digital camera.

Soon enough a happy snap escalated into a tug-of-war as curious locals
swarmed around the mule, the old man, the laowai with the camera, and his
gobsmacked friends. He wouldn't let me go for three minutes.

Thankfully, an old lady came out of nowhere and rescued me. In front of
the heckling onlookers, she waved her index finger madly yelling at the
old man.

We made our escape and the search for food continued. We wandered down a
long road with a dozen tiny eateries, where staff squatted outside
sharpening knives and meat cleavers.

We hoped to find a place with picture menus. One restaurant had a very
graphic menu, which revealed a nice, big, succulent cow head. Its bulging
eyeballs stared up at us, tongue half hanging out of its mouth.

No thanks.

A hotel would have a restaurant, we believed. True, except the hotel
restaurant we walked into looked like a bomb had hit it: Thick smoke
filled the air from hundreds of smoked cigarettes, food scraps and plates
stacked on tables, and red confetti all over the floor looked like
remnants of exploded firecrackers during Spring Festival.

Staff cleared tables as crowds of well-dressed people milled around. It
was a wedding reception.

The parents of the groom handed over money, a thick wad of 100-yuan
notes, to hotel staff.

Carrying backpacks, we skated in between the hundreds of guests, who
looked at us curiously, but not unwelcoming. We saw the happy couple
mingling with friends. We looked at them. They looked at us, we smiled
and they smiled back. "Congratulations," we said.

The young groom acknowledged us with a who-are-you look, and in perfect
English said: "Thank you."

Our train was leaving soon and there was no chance of getting a quick
bite in this town.

Qinhuangdao: two hours, a mule, a cow head and a wedding.

We eventually settled on a salad.


(China Daily 06/14/2007 page20)










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Pnyin - Victoria Beckham throws out the first ball

ENTERTAINMENT / Most Viewed Photos in 72 Hours






Victoria Beckham throws out the first ball


Updated: 2007-06-12 18:58






Victoria Beckham gestures to Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Mike Lieberthal
before throwing out the first pitch at an MLB baseball game between the
Dodgers and the New York Mets in Los Angeles, California, June 11, 2007.
[Reuters]


1 2 3 4 5










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Chinese Tutor - Mischa Barton to star in lesbian film

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






Mischa Barton to star in lesbian film


Updated: 2007-06-08 17:59



Former O.C. star Mischa Barton is coming out on the big screen in Roland
Joffe's Russian coming-of-age drama Finding t.A.T.u., reports Variety.



The movie, adapted from the novel t.A.T.u. Come Back by Russian author A.
Mitrofanov, follows the story of a lonely American teenager in Moscow who
becomes friends with a local girl over their obsession with the
gay-for-pay pop band t.A.T.u.

In 2000 t.A.T.u. caused international controversy with their music video
single "I've Lost My Mind." The video, which aired on MTV Russia,
depicted the band's two female singers dressed as Catholic school girls
singing the song and kissing sensually.

With the release of the documentary Anatomiya t.A.T.u. in 2003, it became
apparent that the girls' sexuality was a publicity stunt.

The cast also includes Shantel VanSanten, Anton Yelchin, Alex Kaluzhsky,
and Helena Mattsson. (The Advocate)











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