It is amazing to see how the entertainment apparatus turns a nobody into a star and its efficiency to produce, consume and cash in on its creations is flabbergasting. Right now the machine is working its magic on Aska Yang (楊宗緯), its latest product. A local version of China's Li Yuchun (李宇春), Yang rocketed to stardom after participating in the singing contest One Million Star (超級星光大道), on national TV. Two months on, the college student-turned-household name keeps the nation enthralled with no more than a reasonably nice voice and a bent for getting teary eyed over defeated contenders.
Nicknamed cry baby for his tears and caveman for his rugged appearance, Yang has quickly become the gossip rag's new favorite as paparazzi digs out dirt saying the contestant once flunked out of college, subtracted five years from his real age and has developed a predilection for young, pretty assistants.
The show has been accused of deliberately eliminating Yang from the competition so that it can invite him back later in the game, adding a bit of suspense and drama to the show even as the star in the making ensures that gossip fodder is in ample supply.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
The Aska craze is predicted to reach a climax in a couple of months as Yang and the nine other finalists, now dubbed as the Million Star Gang (星光幫), are working on their first compilation album slated to hit the market in the summer. Whether or not the gang are successful products like Hello Kitty or Jolin Tsai (蔡依林), only time will tell.
In other tabloid news, A-mei (阿妹) is said to have developed a fancy for younger men as a widely circulated picture of her nestling up to Super Basketball League player He Shou-cheng (何守正) is interpreted as a sign of budding love by local media proficient in making gossip headlines out of nothing.
As the rumored romance comes suspiciously close to the release date of the star's new album next month, and one cannot but wonder whether the record company is getting a bit slack in resorting to a publicity gimmick that is so yesterday.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
Pop singer and entertainer Alan Luo (羅志祥) is apparently in the prime of his life. Not only does his romantic pursuit of the queen of cute Rainie Yang (楊丞琳) look promising, the business-savvy star has set up his own clothing brand and his first flagship store opened last weekend in Ximending (西門町).
Over 600 fans flooded into the store to pick up Luo's designs of limited edition clothing and plastic toys. And by the end of the day, the astute star took more than NT$1 million of bucks for what are in fact plain T-shirts and trinkets.
Meanwhile, Luo's past rumored girlfriend Jolin Tsai is spending the same amount of cash on the other side of the planet. Picking up pricey lessons from Kylie Monogue's dance instructor in London, the dance diva's studiousness has been faithfully documented by the record company, lauding the star as a studious young lady who can lead a ordinary life like other Taiwanese students do despite her fame and wealth.
Pop Stop just wants to point out one thing: expensive dance lessons, extravagant shopping and five-star hotel accommodation can hardly constitute a common experience shared by Taiwanese students in foreign countries.
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
Mirror mirror on the wall, what’s the fairest Disney live-action remake of them all? Wait, mirror. Hold on a second. Maybe choosing from the likes of Alice in Wonderland (2010), Mulan (2020) and The Lion King (2019) isn’t such a good idea. Mirror, on second thought, what’s on Netflix? Even the most devoted fans would have to acknowledge that these have not been the most illustrious illustrations of Disney magic. At their best (Pete’s Dragon? Cinderella?) they breathe life into old classics that could use a little updating. At their worst, well, blue Will Smith. Given the rapacious rate of remakes in modern
RSS