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Old-schoolers tune out when he plays his new songs, funk freaks are clueless when he plays a Led Zeppelin cover, rockers sit down when he plays slow jams, and jazz heads scoff at his pop hits, but everyone with ears to listen–and an ass to shake–agrees that there is no one like Prince. Although music critics tried to set him up against Michael Jackson in the eighties, his truer peers are James Brown and David Bowie. Prince is a musical perfectionist and master performer who has reinvented himself over and over. And on top of that, he can play practically every instrument perfectly and has produced himself since the beginning. These days he even releases his own albums and books his own shows. Yes, there’s some punk rock in him, too. But you can’t really get Prince until you see him in concert. Actually, I’m no super fan and I didn’t see him until 2004 after the L.A. Kings flamed out (typically and appropriately) and missed the NHL’s post-season. Instead of getting my money back from Staples Center, I decided to purchase some nosebleed Prince tickets. While wandering the aisles before the show, we were offered to swap our tickets for unsold seats that were super close and… damn. I was surprised and blown away by what seemed like a nonstop guitar solo. So when it was announced that he would play 21 shows in Los Angeles with most tickets going for 25 bucks (including service charge) I had to go. And I wound up attending to three of the shows at The Forum… I apologize in advance if these brief descriptions are too geeky. It would get old if I kept saying how insanely perfect and timeless songs like “Controversy,” “Kiss,” and “D.M.S.R.” are, so I’ll just describe some of the major differences in the sets. My first night was actually the third of the series: Friday, April 22. Not long after the already legendary kick-off show that stretched well past 1:00 a.m. and included seven encores that continued until the Lakers’ old arena was half full with the house lights on, we had huge expectations. But instead of starting off as a crowd pleaser, the evening began with a more experimental slant showcasing Prince on bass (even if the lights were low): “Beginning Endlessly,” “Laydown,” “Endorphinmachine.” Surprise guest Alicia Keys came out to sing “How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore” while he played keyboard and Cuba Gooding Jr. came onstage to dance for a couple of songs. After two encores, we waited for more than an hour for more and were rewarded by seeing him ride out on a beach cruiser. A weird way to end an odd, somewhat somber (but unique and cool) 90-minute set, now viewable on YouTube. The next Saturday was another sold-out show. I got killer seats for 25 bucks, and this time he played a more crowd-friendly show with five encores. The guest was Gwen Stefani, who came out to sing “So...
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Notorious MSG New album Jokester rap group, Notorious MSG is releasing a new album. Here’s some links, and even a video clip. In this time of Asian Americans actually making it in rap, this band might have that outsiders chance for a bit ala Fat Boys (Yes, we know that first Fat Boys album is a classic – so maybe not). Album streaming, Album download, Youtube. Starbucks Tightens Focus on China “The agreement gives Seattle-based Starbucks 100% ownership of the 250 stores it has run with Hong Kong-based Maxim’s in the provinces of Guangdong, Hainan, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Hubei, as well as the province-level municipality of Chongqing, Starbucks said. Maxim’s has owned a 30% stake in those operations since 2002.” Why do we care? I’ve heard that in Japan, Starbucks has 0% stake in the Starbucks in Japan. Oops. Asians don’t drink coffee, right? We remember hearing that 15-20 years ago… Asians only drink tea… (WSJ – Starbucks in China) French Open finalist Li is key to boom in China The title sounds intriguing but in the end, it doesn’t talk about tennis in China. However, Li Na might be the first Asian woman to win a Grand Slam Final. She goes up against last year’s champion, Francesca Schiavone, a scrappy Italian player and it should be a struggle. But in the end, in a country that big, yes, tennis can be a huge sport with her win. But ideally, it should be anyway regardless. (Seattlepi – Li Na) Boston’s Experiment with Daisuke Matsuzaka This article talks about Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Red Sox experiment and how they got stuck, but since he’s announced that he’s getting Tommy John surgery which may end his career, the Red Sox can now end his tenure. But it started because of money. “Dice-K knew it. He had the Sox where he wanted them: over a money barrel.” (Bleacher Report – Dice K) Balloon Boy Balloon for 1 Million The first sentence may say it all. “Richard and Mayumi Heene, the parents behind 2009′s infamous “Balloon Boy” news story, have put the balloon on the auction block and are asking $1 million for it.” The part about it being an attraction? For 1 Million? Perhaps the Roswell Museum would be a great place. (abcnews – Balloon Boy)
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Coming Soon: The Smartest Town in the World “Imagine a city of the future, populated by wind-powered vehicles, with homes running on intelligent software that consume less power.” This is the plan for Fujisawa, Japan, a city about 31 miles to the west of Tokyo. A consortium of large Japanese companies, including Sumitomo Bank and Tokyo Gas, will build the Sustainable Smart Town (SST) on a vacant property where a Panasonic electronics factory used to stand. For the 3,000 residents who will live there, daily life will include electric cars, with charging stations throughout town, solar-powered homes, and a massive town-wide network to monitor energy consumption and reduce CO2 emissions in the area by 70% from 1990s levels. And the whole thing should be fully populated and operational by 2018. This looks to be a very exciting and relevant project. (SST Overview at Tokyo Times, DVice and CEPro) Happiness different for Americans, ethnic Asians “Not everyone sees positive emotions such as joviality and self-assurance as unequivocally good.” If you are of European descent, you may sometimes wonder why your Asian friends seem more restrained and taciturn in situations where you would jump for joy. Likewise, you Asian folks may find it silly and odd that your Caucasian buddies smile and get giggly seemingly at the drop of a hat. Well, according to studies done at the Universities of Washington and Wisconsin-Madison, people of European and of Asian descent are to some extent culturally programmed to show emotions like happiness in different ways. Research suggests that Asian-Americans and Asian-born Asians, in particular, are often unsure or suspicious of expressing happy emotions unless they can determine how doing so will benefit the group rather than themselves. Interesting stuff which, unfortunately, may or may not reinforce certain clichés white and Asian ethnic groups have about each other. (Time Healthland – Asian vs. European Happy) Magic “Money Liquid” in China “Posing as Americans or Frenchmen, they promised to invest their $4 million funds into the victims’ business and even vowed to marry some of their victims.” There are a lot of benefits to the herbs and remedies found in traditional Chinese medicine, even though modern science cannot yet explain how they all work. However, we’re pretty sure there is no sound scientific way to use a magic elixir to convert counterfeit American dollars into real ones. But that did not stop a group of con men, who recently were able to cheat more than 50 victims in China out of more than US $300,000 with promises that such a money-conversion potion existed and actually worked. It seems amazing that anyone in any country would fall for such a scam, but they did. And Chinese police have had a hard time catching all the con artists because some victims had sex with the scammers and became too embarrassed to report them to police. (China Global Times – Money Liquid Con) Hong Kong iPad2 Sales Scam “Eager buyers waiting outside a Fortress outlet in Hong...
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This world premiere performance as part of Sydney Opera House Graphic (“a weekend of storytelling, animation & music”) features Tekkonkinkreet screened with live music performed by London-based British electronic duo Plaid, who composed the original score to the film, accompanied by Sydney’s eclectic string quartet FourPlay and Australia’s premiere percussion group Synergy. The Sydney fu&#)ng Opera House. How cool is that?! Sydney Opera House, Opera Theater Sun 21 August, 11 AM Further details here. Posted by Mike (skirting the razor-thin boundary between news and shameless self-promotion). Reports from the event forthcoming!
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Karate-Robo Zaborgar by director Noboru Iguchi “Japan’s scientists, politicians and businessmen are in grave danger. The evil secret society Sigma, led by the nefarious Dr. Akunomiya and aided by Miss Borg, a beautiful man-hating cyborg, has been stealing their DNA and using it to build a giant cybernetic robot. The only man who can stop them is secret agent Daimon, who rides a motorcycle that also happens to be a robot with mad karate skills. Welcome to the world of Karate-Robo Zaborgar!” Directed by Japanese cult director Noboru Iguchi, this over-the-top update of a tokusatsu TV show from the ’70s is sheer madness, delivered with the power of Zaborgar’s patented “Flying Dragon Triple Kicks.” Sat., June 18, 10:30 p.m., Downtown Independent Tue., June 21, 10:30 p.m., Regal 11 Now in its 17th year, Film Independent’s Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by Los Angeles Times, showcases the best of American and international cinema. The 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival takes place June 16-26, 2011 in downtown Los Angeles. The Festival screens more than 200 features, shorts, documentaries and music videos from more than 40 countries. The Festival connects the movie-loving public to critically acclaimed filmmakers, film industry professionals, and emerging talent in the heart of Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world. For passes, tickets and full Festival details, please call 1.866.FilmFest or visit www.LAFilmFest.com
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