#kwan tai

[shihlun]

Propaganda photo of Kwan Tai ritual for Hong Kong detectives, date unknown.

[ljones41]

"NOBLE HOUSE" (1988) Review

"NOBLE HOUSE" (1988) Review

Between 1962 and 1993, author James Clavell wrote and published a series of novels centered on Europeans living in Asia. Some of the novels featured a family founded by a Scottish-born sailor named Dirk Struan, who became a trader in early 19th century China. And one of those novels was "Noble House", published in 1981.

Clavell's novel centered around one of Struan's descendants, Ian Dunross, who struggled to save the family company from a precarious financial position left by the previous CEO or "tai-pan" in the British colony, Hong Kong. Dunross sought a partnership with an American billionaire named Linc Barlett of Par-Con Industries, in the hopes of rescuing Struan's from financial ruin and a possible takeover by his family's long-time rival, Quinlan Gornt of Rothwell-Gornt. However, matters grew worse for Dunross and the company when the oldest son of Struan's comprador, Philip Chen, sold both company secrets and "coin debt" in the form of one of four half-coins that was given to Dirk Struan 146 years ago, to Barlett. This enabled Barlett to seek a partnership with Gornt in the hopes of making a raid on Struan's. When Philip's son, John Chen, ended up kidnapped by a local street gang, the value of the "coin debt", which ended up in the hands of wealthy smuggler named Four Fingers Wu. And this left Dunross and Struan's vulnerable to another threat.

I first read "Noble House" in my early twenties. Looking back on it, I now realize it was a good thing I had read previously read Clavell's 1966 novel, "Tai-Pan" and saw the 1986 movie adaptation. If not, I would have found myself confused over the family feud that served as a backdrop to the Dunross-Gornt feud and the history of the "coin debt". This involved four half-coins given to Dirk Struan by a Chinese trader named Jinqua in "Tai-Pan", as repayment for the loan of silver. Any CEO or "tai-pan" of Struan's must fulfill the request, whether legal or illegal, to anyone who presents one of the half coins that Jinqua originally kept. I ended up enjoying the 1981 novel very much. But I had some issues with it. Issues that had thankfully failed to materialized in "NOBLE HOUSE", the 1988 miniseries.

One of the issues centered around secret intelligence documents that Dunross found himself in possession of, thanks to his MI-6 contact. These documents ended up being sought by various intelligence agencies, including the MI-6, the C.I.A. and the K.G.B. However, this story arc had nothing to do with Dunross's efforts to save Struan's, so screenwriter Eric Bercovici ditched it. He also removed another story arc featuring an entourage of visiting members of Parliament - which included Dunross' Labor brother-in-law. Again, this arc had very little to do with the main one involving Dunross's business situation.

The miniseries had also removed several characters, including K.G.B. agent Captain Suslev, a visiting author and former Royal Air Force veteran named Peter Marlowe (from the 1962 novel, "King Rat"), Dunross's wife and children (he is a childless widower in the miniseries), Dunross's brother-in-law Robin Grey (also from "King Rat") and especially Dunross's wife Penelope and their three children. In the miniseries, Dunross is a childless widower, enabling him to have a romance with Par-Con executive Casey Tcholok. The biggest change proved to be the story's timeline. Bercovici updated the story's setting from August 1963 to November 1987, allowing it to be a modern tale. This enabled several characters like Linc Barlett and Casey Tcholok to mention Great Britain's future 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China.

I do have some minor complaints regarding "NOBLE HOUSE". One, I found Paul Chihara's score for the miniseries unmemorable and almost pedantic. And speaking of the score, I really disliked the cheesy aspect of the theme Chihara had created for the Orlanda Ramos character. It almost sounded like something for a soft-porn movie. Very insulting for a character like Orlanda, who proved to be more complicated. I also had a problem with some of the dialogue featured in "NOBLE HOUSE". This especially seemed to be the case in scenes featuring dialogue between European and Chinese characters or simply between Chinese characters. I found the dialogue rather awkward, exaggerated and very stylized. I realize the screenwriter was simply copying some of James Clavell's dialogue from the novel. But I really wish he had not.

Despite my complaints, I really enjoyed "NOBLE HOUSE". Every time I watch it, I am always surprised at how epic it seemed by the end of the last episode. And mind you, this story had very little to do with history. It was simply a mixture of the usual melodrama involving sex, romance, financial dealings and family conflicts. Even one of the story arcs, which featured Cold War espionage, managed to have an impact on the narrative's main arc regarding Ian Dunross's financial situation. Most people would be disappointed that this television adaptation was not completely faithful to Clavell's novel. Frankly, I am relieved. Bercovici managed to cut some of the superfluous story arcs and prevent the miniseries from becoming bloated. Yet, he still managed to retain Clavell's epic feel for the narrative. And he achieved this with the help of director Gary Nelson, who provided an overall steady pace in scenes that range from dramatic and action moments. Nelson's handling of the floating restaurant fire and the landslide that destroyed an apartment complex in the final episode really impressed me.

"NOBLE HOUSE" proved to be one of those productions that featured an international cast. Aside from a handful of performances, most struck me as being pretty solid. I must admit that I found those from the likes of Burt Kwok, Lim Kay Tong, Gordon Jackson, Denholm Elliott, Lisa Lu, Michael Siberry, Tia Carrere, John Houseman, Brian Fong, Ric Young, John van Dreelen, Nancy Kwan, Damien Thomas, Galen Yuen, George Innes and Dudley Sutton rather memorable. But there were certain performances that I truly enjoyed.

One of those performances came from the always memorable Khigh Dhiegh, who struck me as very colorful as one of Hong Kong's premiere smugglers, Four Fingers Wu. Ben Masters' take on the Lincoln "Linc" Bartlett characters seemed less boyish and more mature that Clavell's literary version. And to be honest, Masters' interpretation struck me as a lot more plausible as the witty and ruthless corporate CEO. I am more familiar with actor Ping Wu, thanks to his frequent appearances on NBC's "SEINFELD". But I really enjoyed his performance as Four Fingers Wu's youngest son, the intelligent and frustrated Paul Choy, who seemed incapable of impressing his father with his more modern outlook on how to profit outside of smuggling. Julia Nickson gave a very poignant performance as Orlanda Ramos, a local Eurasian television journalist and former mistress of Quillan Gornt. Thanks to Nickson's skillful performance, Orlanda evaded the superficial trope of a one-dimensional, walking sex toy; who became an intelligent, yet emotional woman who desired to be more than someone's bed warmer.

I might as well confess. Despite James Clavell's efforts, the character of Quillan Gornt never became a favorite of mine. His role as Dunross's main rival had nothing to do with my attitude. But I cannot deny that John Rhys-Davies gave one hell of a performance as the ruthless CEO who seemed to radiate wit, presence and a penchant for petty behavior. Casey Tcholok seemed like a difficult character to portray. Actress Deborah Raffin could have easily portray her as this ideal, "Mary Sue" type. Fortunately, James Clavell never portrayed Casey in that manner and neither did Raffin. Although the latter's take on the character seemed a bit more mature than her literary counterpart, Raffin expertly conveyed many of Casey's nuances - her razor-sharp intelligence, impatience, her talent for observation, her fears of being overlooked as a more than competent business person and her wit. However, Raffin's Casey struck me as a bit more sardonic than Clavell's literary version. Pierce Brosnan looked nothing like the literary Ian Dunross. Although both are tall, the latter possessed slightly wavy blond hair and the actor is definitely a brunette. The literary Dunross was in his early 40s, whereas Brosnan was only 34 years-old when he shot "NOBLE HOUSE". And yet . . . the Irish-born actor more than lived up to the role of Struan's CEO with a commanding performance without trying to hard. Brosnan wore the role very well - tight on the inside and relaxed on the outside. He not only portrayed Dunross's intelligence and ruthlessness with great skill, but also conveyed the CEO's growing concerns over losing the company and desperate attempts to save it without resorting to any kind of histrionic acting. By the time the miniseries ended, Brosnan had embedded into the role so well that I had completely forgotten that he was the wrong age to portray Dunross and possessed the wrong hair color.

"NOBLE HOUSE" never really acquired the acclaim that both television versions of James Clavell's 1975 novel, Shōgun or the movie version of the author's 1962 novel, "King Rat" had. But thankfully, it was no "TAI-PAN". Not that I care. I am not claiming that "NOBLE HOUSE" was mediocre. On the contrary, I thought it was a skillful and excellent adaptation of the 1981 novel. The latter is my favorite Clavell novel and I was more than happy that NBC had did more than simply justice to it, thanks to Gary Nelson's well-paced direction, Eric Bercovici's tight screenplay and performances from a first-rate cast led by Pierce Brosnan and Deborah Raffin. It has been years since I first saw it and to this day, I have yet to grown tired of it.

[sidonius5]

𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝓎 𝑔𝑒𝓃𝑒𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒, ℐ 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝒾𝑒𝓋𝑒 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐞 𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝒻𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 ℐ 𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓊𝒹 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝓇𝑜𝒹𝓊𝒸𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓊𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐞, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐌𝐫. 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝑔𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒻𝒶𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒷𝑒𝓎𝑜𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓊𝓈. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐀 (1983) 𝒾𝓈 𝒶 𝒻𝓊𝓃 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒𝒹𝒾𝒸/𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝒶𝓁 𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓈 𝒻𝒾𝓁𝓂, 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝓁𝑜𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓃𝑔 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓅𝑜𝓁𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝑜𝒻𝒻𝒾𝒸𝑒𝓇 (𝗗𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗼𝗻) 𝑔𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝒻𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓈𝑒 𝓉𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒸𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓈 𝓅𝒾𝓇𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓈 𝓀𝑒𝑒𝓅𝓈 𝒷𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝓉𝑜𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹𝓈 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝓁𝓊���𝓀, 𝓈𝑜 𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝑒𝒶𝓂𝓈 𝓊𝓅 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓂 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓃. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝒾𝓁𝓂 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒶𝓈 𝗙𝗲𝗶 (𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐨 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐠) 𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝓁𝓈𝑜 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧'𝐬 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓉𝒾𝒶𝓁 𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓈 𝒶𝒸𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓂𝓎 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝓇𝒶𝒾𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓁𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓂𝒶𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝐘𝐮 𝐉𝐢𝐦-𝐲𝐮𝐞𝐧. ℐ 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒾𝓃 𝓃𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓁𝓎 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝒻𝒾𝓁𝓂𝓈, 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐨 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝓌𝑒𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓃𝒹. 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝒶𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝓉𝓊𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓉𝓎 𝒸𝓇𝒶𝓏𝓎 𝒾𝓃 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐀 (1983), 𝑒𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒸𝒾𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝓁𝑜𝒸𝓀𝓉𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝓉𝓊𝓃𝓉. 𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝓁𝓎 𝒾𝓃𝓈𝒶𝓃𝑒. ℐ𝒻 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓀 𝑜𝒻 𝐌𝐫. 𝐉𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧, 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃 ℐ 𝒶𝒹𝓋𝒾𝓈𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒸𝒽𝑒𝒸𝓀 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑜𝓊𝓉.

𝒫.𝒮.

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝓂𝑒𝓇𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝒸𝓉𝑜𝓇 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒶𝓈 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐨 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝒶 𝓈𝓂𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐀 (1983).

[taekwondolifemagazine]

Twilight of the Warriors is a Great Way to Spend Two Hours

August 14, 2024 (NYC)– Twilight of the  Warriors is a Great Way to Spend Two Hours. Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024), is the latest theatrical release from Well Go USA Entertainment.  It is a great martial arts, action film and worth seeing in theaters. SYNOPSIS: Many years after the bloody turf war that ushered in an uneasy era of peace in Hong Kong’s underworld, the notorious Kowloon…

[heretherebedork]

Man, Thai BL is going hard on the idea that kindness, compassion and love all go together. It's everywhere right now and I am here for it. Pat and Jeng go on a a date to feed the homelesss, Patts and Tai were there for each other in the hardest parts of their lives, Max and Kwan showed compassion all over the place... it's just the era for kindness, compassion, love and understanding and we are absolutely ready to hear it.

[bornitereads]

China Rich Girlfriend - Kevin Kwan

Reread: Jun 2024

Sequel to Crazy Rich Asians. If Crazy Rich Asians was about Nick and his family, this one is about Rachel and her family. Especially her dad in China who has a whole other family. We meet her dad and her brother and her (evilish) stepmother. Oh and her brother's kind of girlfriend who also is "China Rich."

There are two other big plotlines in here too. One is about Astrid trying to pull her marriage out of the trash (spoilers: it belongs there). And the second is about Kitty Pong, now Kitty Tai. I love that Kitty is basically joke in the first book, but now moves to becoming one of the major characters in the series.

Again this book has a silliness to it that I adore. It's a feature of the whole series. There is some wild serious stuff as well, but it's all kind of ridiculous. And I think that's the point haha.

Info: Anchor Canada; 2015

[deusvervewrites]

Heroes and Pokémon: not directly related to the main premise but I think it would be funny if Torino was like. In Hosu to get food from a specific restaurant so he’s in a place where he can notice stain and then introduce him to the skills a master of Tai Kwan Leep has before he can kill Iida.

Gran Torino coincidentally showing up to bully Stain is very funny but I'm not sure how much sense it makes

[rpking99]

Out of curiosity, both because can't remember enough of the OG show, and maybe if its different in the comics, what training did the rangers do in Ernie's bar? It wasn't just karate or anything like that was it?

Honestly, while Ernie's juice bar was a... well... juice bar, it was also a multi purpose rec centre.

Jason taught karate classes. But they also had regular gym equipment like punching bags and tredmils

Kimberly practiced her gymnastics via a balance beam and some other stuff like a spring board

They had an open area where Zack practiced his dance when he wasn't training with Jason, Tommy or Trini

And Trini practiced... I belive it was tai kwan do. Was definatly a more 'calm' martial arts than what Jason and Tommy did, at least.

Did get used for stuff like that less and less as the MMPR/Zeo/Turbo era went on though. And more focused on the random events Ernie would set up there or just the bar area where you could order smoothies or food

[statecryptids]

Yo, gonna be posting some more book reviews here, cause I love sharing what I'm reading.

BOOK REVIEW: IT'S OKAY TO SPARKLE!

by Avery Jackson, illustrations by Jessica Udischas

It’s Okay to Sparkle is a picture book for younger kids from 4-8 about Avery, a seven-year-old girl like any other. She loves climbing trees, taking care of animals, dancing, attending Girl Scouts, and doing Tai Kwan Do. Avery is also transgender and she explains what that means in a simple, matter-of-fact way that’s easy for kids to understand. She talks about how much she loved playing dress-up in preschool and how happy being able to affirm her gender and feel accepted by her friends made her. Her playful narration helps trans and gender-nonconforming children develop the concepts and vocabulary to better explain their own identities while also encouraging empathy and understanding from cis kids.

Avery’s narration is complimented well by Udischars’ art style, which gives the pages a feeling of motion and liveliness reminiscent of 90s-era Nickelodeon cartoons.

As fun and colorful as the book is, Avery also talks about some of the difficulties trans kids face, such as people try to tell her she’s using the wrong bathroom; or her fear that her parents will reject her (they do not, for the record, and in fact strongly affirm her identity); or that other kid’s parents will disapprove of her out of the misguided fear that their own kids will catch the trans “disease”.

The book also addresses a pernicious talking point in anti-trans rhetoric which claims that children who say they’re trans are just “confused” and can’t tell the difference between make-believe and reality. Avery’s response to that is: “Sometimes I like pretending I’m an animal or a ninja or a princess. But that’s just make-believe”. When children pretend they’re a dragon or an astronaut, they know they aren’t actually these things. Gender, however, is a fundamental part of a person’s being and kids- trans, cis, or nonbinary- know who they are.

Despite these difficulties, the book is still positive and affirming. As Avery explains: “Being transgender is a hard thing, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be yourself.”It's Okay to Sparkle is a charmingly straight-forward picture book encouraging empathy and understanding for kids of all genders. You can get a copy from the author’s website:

[f10werfae]

can mafia boss's henry cavill's wife, reader can even fight? Just you see a gun or dagger or can do tai kwan do

Seeing as she grew up in a mafia family herself, her speciality is using nunchucks and kickboxing, although when it comes to protecting baby Charlie she knows she has to run rather than fight. When it comes to the family, Henry protects and takes over, not wanting to put his wife or son in any unnecessary danger when he can just handle it himself. Easily.

[more-than-a-princess]

@quickdeaths asked: [ cherry ] what is one thing you love about yourself? + [ canary ] do you have pets? if yes, how many and what? + [ olive ] what gives you the most inspiration for your muse(s)? + [ mauve ] give one random headcanon about your muse / one of your muses.

Colourful Interview (Munday meme) - Accepting!

[ cherry ] what is one thing you love about yourself?

These questions are never my favorite because it's awkward to brag about anything in my family unless it is professional/career success, but in contrast to a lot of my extended family, I'm very determined to succeed that way but on my own terms. A lot of my family rests on their laurels, so to speak, and feels they don't really have to work hard to be well-off and successful. But I've worked my way from the ground up at my job and while I'm not satisfied with where I'm at right now (and can do much better), I can still say I did it myself.

This is in contrast to extended family members being terribly puzzled why I simply can't 'summer in Tuscany' this year, or spend all of fall exploring wineries throughout France. No, I have a full-time job with health insurance, a 401k, and limited days off but I've earned them with my own hard work. And I'm proud of that (and used zero parental connections to get hired in the first place).

And in a slightly vain love: my fashion sense is on point and my friends know that if they want my opinion, I will not sugarcoat it for them. It's not easy to dress a plus-sized body with decent fabrics, cuts meant for my size, and not have it look like a fast fashion disaster or something a retiree might wear.

[ olive ] what gives you the most inspiration for your muse(s)?

Probably the best answer is what doesn't give me inspiration for my muses? Ha. And it's mostly things like fantasy literature/TV/movies (Game of Thrones would be the obvious example, but other things similar to that), video games, and most anime/manga interpretations of royalty. While they're fun to read, they don't really help cultivate the vibe I've always wanted to write for Sonia and her family, which has always been rooted in historical fiction, biographies, documentaries, contemporary fiction of royalty and upper classes in general, and news/current events. Not that there's anything wrong with the fantasy royal route: it's just not my thing.

But otherwise here's a few things:

Books: From classics written by Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Edith Wharton to more contemporary offerings from Dominick Dunne, Julian Fellowes, Tom Wolfe, and Kevin Kwan...I read. A lot. And beyond romance novels of all sorts, rich and/or royal problems are my particular literary interest. Ironically, the reading list that the character Corinna provides Kitty Pong Mrs. Bernard Tai in China Rich Girlfriend as part of her 'Appeal to old Hong Kong money crash course' is a good start. (Mild spoiler for book series that's been out for years, but still)

TV/Movies: Split between historical dramas (of comedic and less-comedic varieties), documentaries, and contemporary dramas most of the time. Considering how both quiet luxury and mocking the super rich are both trending right now (ahead of the likely recession), it's hard not to watch things like The Menu, The White Lotus, and Succession for some inspiration. Otherwise, everything from Downton Abbey, Bridgerton, The Gilded Age, and The Great to The Royals, Gossip Girl, Elite, and The Crown is up for fair game. I watch some Asian dramas too, but often more contemporary than historical for inspo. And plenty of royal documentaries (and I'll probably be watching King Charles III's coronation live, too).

Publications: Tatler (and I've mentioned it IC, too!), Town and Country, and Vanity Fair especially. But I look over gossip magazines as well for scandal inspiration.

Royal websites and social media: Yup. These too, for a variety of royals. Great for checking out social diaries, charity ideas, etc. For the fan questions Sonia and her family are asked? I follow royal confession and shitpost accounts for inspo. I had no idea there were so many people who diligently tracked when and where pieces of various crown jewel collections are worn, but they exist.

Real life: And finally, some of my ideas/plots/headcanons come from people and situations I know and/or experience personally.

[ mauve ] give one random headcanon about your muse / one of your muses.

Going to piggyback off the last question for this, but one of my headcanons for Sonia's younger cousin Sam (Prince Samuel of Novoselic. His father, Prince Arthur, is the King's younger brother. And a duke in his own right, alongside being a giant headache for a lot of people, Sam included) is that he learned how to fly a plane before he learned how to drive a car. This was an acceptable hobby growing up for him, as it would allow him to serve in the national air force for mandatory service required of all Novosonian royal men. But mostly, he wanted to learn because he could blissfully block out all of the family stress and squabbles thousands of kilometers in the air.

In the clouds, no one cares about the royal line of succession, net worth, who's who in the peerage, who went to which school and knows which person, who runs which charity, etc.

It's just him (and an instructor, and a bodyguard), the controls, and the sky.

This headcanon and the reasoning for it are based off of someone I know very well, and while they don't know I included this in one of my OCs for Sonia's family (hell, they don't even know I RP), I'm happy to honor them in this way.

Maybe after I eventually write the whole "Royal Residences" headcanon post I should work on a Sonia's family tree headcanon post

[ canary ] do you have pets? if yes, how many and what?

Ah yes, time to pay the pet tax!

Yes, I have one cat of my own. This is Molly, aka. Princess Molly, the true ruler of the house and my life.

She is a formerly feral buff tabby tuxedo girl, thus the notched ear. A rescue organization saved her from a cat colony when she was six months old, holding her own against a bunch of adult cats. I knew she was the cat for me at adoption day when she tucked herself into my arms and hissed at kittens and human children alike.

I like kittens, but I've got no interest in having human children of my own, so we really are kindred spirits.

Molly enjoys: sunny spots, windows, seafood feast, chicken feast (but only if the chunks are mushed up by me or my husband with a fork before presenting it to her. She doesn't like the pureed version: only the chunks but further pureed by hand), quiet, solitude, sitting on my belly while I read, watching the electric kettle come to a boil, my leather shoes and handbags (the higher the quality, the better to rub her face on), heated blankets, watching British dramas, grooming herself and her parents, sleep, ordering her mother and father around.

Molly dislikes: noise, anyone besides her mother and father entering the house, when her mother and/or father leave the house (they may not be coming back!), closing the bathroom door so she can't supervise shower and/or toilet time, stompy feet, salmon, turkey, coughing, sneezing, other cats, dogs, children of all sorts, people, cleaning her perch mats, when her catnip toys lose their flavor, and Amazon Alexa.

[68uhuhuhu]

THIS! 100% THIS!!

Guqin mastery, piano mastery, guitar, lute, ocarina, otamatone, violin, viola, cello, flute, pan pipe, harmonica, electric guitar, pipe organs, the littler organs Idk what they're called, hurdy-gurdy, banjo, accordion, concertina, albolka, dulcimer, washboard, bass, drums, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANUY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS THERE ARE IN THE WORLD AND HOW LITTLE TIME I HAVE TO PRACTICE??? [I didn't even go into music]

Then there's the other things: literature of every people, linguistics of all the world [good grief just learning the languages themselves] and the crafts oh the crafts! there's sewing, and crocheting, and knitting, and quilting, and spinning, and leathermaking, and shoemaking, and carpentry, and whittling, and stonecarving, and pottery making, and bookbinding, and scribing, and drawing with charcoal and graphite, and painting with goauche and acrylic and oil and watercolor and mixed media, and papercutting, and papermaking, and upholstery

And automechanics, and robot building, and

And geology and geography and carbon dating and physics and quantum physics and that thing that lets you make zero gravity by spinning in a tube and sciences were never my strong suit BUT SCIENCES ARE WHAT LETS US DO COOL THINGS WITH SPACE STUFF

and programming and C, C++,C#, vb.net, Rust, R, Ruby, Springboot, Java, COBOL, visual basic, binary, and all the other programmings languages and all the cool things you can do with those

Biathanatos.

and ham radio, and electromagnetic waves

and veterinary medicine, and medicine,

and bushcraft, and hunting, and tannery, and how do you make leather out of FISHSKIN?? and can you really identify things by the different types of ash and what are the different types of ash and how do you learn them? and cooking, so many different ways of cooking! all the different dishes till you have them all memorized so you can cook all your favorite dishes of the world to taste

and the thing the chocolate guy does where its sculpting but with food

and cake decorating and

and soapmaking and animal husbandry and goatmilking and the insanity of keeping goats alive

and horse riding and horse showing off and horse care

and archery and swordfighting and all the different types of sword fighting and muay thai and tai kwan do and krav maga and mixed martial arts and tai chi and iaido and all the other martial arts out there and jousting and gun shooting and gun making

and blacksmithing and tinsmithing and silversmithing and glassblowing and

THERE'S NOT ENOUGH TIME TO PRACTICE BUT A FEW OF THESE WHEN I HAVE TO WORK TOO!!!! TT_TT

[saturdaynightmatinee]

CALIFICACIÓN PERSONAL: 5.5 / 10

Título Original: Mo AKA The Boxer's Omen

Año: 1983

Duración: 105 min

País: Hong Kong

Dirección: Kuei Chih-Hung

Guion: Kuei Chih-Hung, Sze-To On

Música: Stephen Shing, Su Chen-Hou

Fotografía: Lee San-Yip, Lam Wan-Kwan, Cho Wai-Kei

Reparto: Phillip Ko, Elvis Tsui Kam-Kong, Kar-Man Wai, Johnny Wang Lung-Wei, Bolo Yeung, Cheung Chok-Chow, Leung Hak-Shun, Tien-chu Chin, Ma Hon-Yuen, Wan Seung-Lam, Lai Yau-Hing, Lam Chi-Tai, Lau Chun, Gam Tin-Chue, Ha Kwok-Wing, Lam Wai, Sai Gwa-Pau

Productora: Shaw Brothers

Género: Horror; Drama

TRAILER:

[petnews2day]

Tai Kwun Contemporary's 'Green Snake' Exhibition Explores Indigeneity

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/Og19d

Tai Kwun Contemporary's 'Green Snake' Exhibition Explores Indigeneity

Kwan Sheung Chi In Back to Mu Village‘s Fairy Big Lake (2023), a two-channel video installation by Chengdu-based artists Cao Minghao and Chen Jianjun, a disembodied voice speaks over a rippling blue-gray lake, describing a Tibetan herder ritual meant to resolve illnesses and disasters caused by human environmental degradation. The lake in question has already […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/Og19d #ExoticPetNews

[thedelulus]

Journalistic Expectations (03) part 1

Flesh in soup pot, body parts in fridge: The gruesome murder of Hong Kong model Abby Choi

First Post : https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/hong-kong-model-abby-choi-murder-former-husband-inlaws-arrested-bones-fridge-skull-soup-pot-12214242.html

Homeless man charged for slaughtering 3 family members in NJ, PA. after nailbiting police standoff.

New York Post:https://nypost.com/2024/03/17/us-news/homeless-man-charged-for-slaughtering-3-family-members-in-nj-pa-after-nailbiting-police-standoff/

16-year-old killers of U.K. transgender teen Brinna Ghey sentenced to life in prison.

CBS NEWS: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brianna-ghey-transgender-teen-convicted-killers-named-in-court-uk/

a. Identify which of the journalistic expectations are met in each of the stories.

For the first news, it met the public interest as Abby Choi is a popular model and socialite. The drama between the ex-husband and his family was very eye-catching to the netizens. It is also eye-catching because of how gruesome the state of the body was found in. The second article falls into the organizing knowledge section, the details of the trials and the happening of the murder is very organized. The third one lies under the category of truthfullness, sources of the article are clearly stated.

b. What are the key elements in these stories that make them effective examples?

The key element for its eye-catchingness was mainly on how gruesome the state of the body was when it was first discovered by the police. Her body was found in a village house in the Tai Po district, her body was decapitated in many different parts, some were in the refrigerator and some at a cemetary in Tseung Kwan O. The most eye-catching part was that some of the body parts were retrieved from one of the two large pots of soup in the village house. It was described as “One of the pots was covered with thick fat, some radishes and carrots” and the meat was believed to be human flesh, later human bones and a skull was found in another pot. The second article key element is the details of the trial of the two teens, it was reported that Ratcliffe and Jenkinson, the two murderers, is handed a mandatory life sentence, and ordering them to serve a minimum term of 20 and 22 years, before they are eligible for parole. They will later be transferred to an adult prison after reaching the age of 18. They both showed no visible reaction to the sentence given to them. The key element of the third article is that they even provide CCTV of the car the murderer carjacked, and has statements from the county distict. The article provided a picture of SWAT officers set up outside the house of the murderer.

c. For any of the stories that didn’t meet these expectations, suggest changes that could have been made to improve them.

Some of the titles are just not catchy enough. Some don't have a trustworthy source. While some are news that the media and the netizens are bored of such as American school shootings, as this is nothing new.

[projectl]

8ch Electronics Soundscape with Installation | Exhibition "MAKE & BELIEVE" curated by Orlean Lai

Exhibition Date: 12-28 January, 2024 Location: Tai Kwun, central, Hong Kong Music Performance Date: 12, 13, 20 January 2024 Details: No Discipline Limited (Link) Tai Kwun (Link) //

a performative exhibition of no magic - "MAKE & BELIEVE"

Curator / Producer Orlean Lai

in collaboration with Tung Wing-hong Ng Tsz-kwan Ho Sin-tung Human Wu Lam Lai Lau Ming-hang

The notion of “fiction” and “real” is intertwined within the theatre. No matter how verisimilar the play may seem, the audience may not perceive it as real; vice versa, no matter how illusory and surreal a narrative gets to be, one can still exercise their imagination and be fully immersed in the narrative. Once stepped into the theatrical space, the audience gets to suspend their disbelief and be ready to participate in a collective “act” of fabrication – for one becomes an active spectator, the “comrade” to “conspire” an impossible reality.

Make & Believe harkens to the 2023 theatrical-installation performance We are for real, nonetheless, unfolding its narration in an exhibition space instead of a theatrical space. As the narrative context shifts, the previous distinction between “fictive” and “real” is eradicated, projecting alienated expectations and assumptions from the participating audience. In this regard, the collective experiment constructed in the theatre destructs into an individual experience with a deeper introspective focus. It liberates the audience’s unidirectional visual perspectives from the spectator seats into a scattered, all-around spectacle by allowing them to free roam within the exhibition hall. Are these transformations equipping the audience with an omniscient vision that was absent as a theatre spectator? Leaving the narrative-driven theatrical space, can the audience perceive implicit messages between and outside of the lines of the exhibits?

In Make & Believe, we invite you to join the conspiracy again – in an exhibition hall where the performers are absent. The audience is left to conceive and perceive by engaging their senses, rediscovering the idiosyncratic performative qualities of scenery, installations, lighting and soundscapes, collaging fragments of existence, non-existence, reality, “the truth” and imagination, in turn constructing their perceptual landscapes. Can the myriad of sensual stimulations, inspire one to rely on intuition to perceive and conceive, travelling inward to search for meaning and answers?

In collaboration with Tung Wing-hong (Mechanical Installation), Ng Tsz-kwan (Mechanical Installation), Ho Sin-tung (Text / Painting / Installation), Human Wu (Scenography), Lam Lai (Music / Soundscape) and Lau Ming-hang (Lighting), these multi-disciplinary artists excelling in different mediums collectively interweave a rhapsody of Gesamtkunstwerk (a total work of art) by echoing with one another while preserving each individual’s creative authenticity for the visitors to feast.

During the exhibition period, several curated performances will be presented. A brand-new composition crafted by Lam Lai, brought by three renowned musicians, Nazar Tabachyshyn (accordion), Wilson Chau (French Horn) and Tiffany Au Kai-see (Bassoon), will accompany the soundscape installations to render an illuminating music creation. Creative performers from We are for real, including KT Yau Ka-hei, Anson Chan, Pearlmi Tam and Tung Chung-can, will also be offering a new collaborative performance on-site. Stay tuned for the shows!

We cordially invite you to be mesmerised by the “staged exhibition”, unleashing all your talents and senses to enjoy the meticulously crafted scenography. Come dialogue with the collective creation, challenge yourself and rediscover what are the “real” and “truth” to you.

// Documentation by HKADC:

// Music Performance