Teaser Trailer for High Kick Girl

Michelle Yeoh in The Guardian

Michelle's Yeoh's new film Far North is in cinemas now. The Guardian published an interview with her on 1st Jan.
Read it here.
They missed out my favourite Michelle movie - Wing Chun, "if her beauty doesn't floor you then her drop kick will". What a tag line.

Chiyoko Shimakura

Love the set design graphics and the fan kimono. Great dramatic song too, from 'the godess of Enka' Chiyoko Shimakura.
Find out more about Japanese Enka music here:
Barbara's Enka Site

Byron Lee Obituary

David Katz's obituary of Byron Lee was published in The Guardian last Friday.
Read it here.

Reggae Bar, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Mao and Marley together at last! This is the Reggae Bar in Chengdu in the Sichuan Province of China.

Many thanks to Steve Barker for these images.
You can listen to Steve's mix of new Chinese music here.

Playlist here at the On The Wire blog:
http://otwradio.blogspot.com/

Dimsum.co.uk news

The British Chinese Community web site dimsum.co.uk won the top award at the recent Pearl Awards ceremony. The annual Pearl Awards celebrates Chinese achievements in Britain.
Read the full article here.
Congratulations!

You can also find an interview with Mark Wu, creator of the excellent web site resource Visible Chinese on the Dimsum.co.uk site.

Byron Lee Tribute Show - Play Podcast

'Chocolate' DVD Review

From Prachya Pinkaew, director of Ong Bak and Warrior King (aka Tom Yung Goong) comes a new martial arts film with a female newcomer JeeJa Yin in the lead role.
Chocolate is the story of – when I say story I mean sequences of fight scenes put together with occasional breaks for lessons in the value of love in life – it’s the story of a Yakuza gangster and a Thai mafia moll who fall in love. The mafia Don Pong pat (the name of Bangkok’s red light district Pat Pong cleverly rearranged) is not best pleased about this romance and ensure the two are separated.

The moll, Zin, has a baby girl who turns out to be autistic. She grows up, cue montage of shots of her in various stages of development going back and forth to medical specialists and eating M&M type chocolates which she likes very much. She can throw them into her mouth very quickly and never misses. She lives with her cousin and her mother and the cousin soon exploits her talent of being able to catch any object thrown at her without looking. Anything except flies, she hates flies. Remember Raymond, Dustin Hoffman’s character in Rain Man and how he reacted when the smoke alarm went off? Well that’s what happens when a fly buzzes near Zen.

Mum gets sick and seeing as Thailand has no NHS she needs money to pay for her medical bills. The fat sidekick cousin finds her mafia-days debt book and takes Zen with him to collect. Zen has learnt martial arts through osmosis – they live next to a muay thai gaym, she watches Tony Jaa and Bruce Lee films and plays fighting games on the Playstaion.

The debtors laugh at a skinny girl and fat boy trying to collect debts. Zen gets mad. You won’t like her when she gets mad. Cue the fight scenes. Yes! During which you spend the whole time going – but how she’s a slip of a girl, can’t see any muscle, but oooh that kick to the back of the neck looked painful.

No wires, no CGI, all real action has been the slogan for previous Pinkaew films and this is no exception. My favourite fight scene took place in a butcher’s warehouse with meat carcasses hanging everywhere (Zen had to overcome her fear of flies here), cleavers and meat hooks a plenty. It reminded me of the Sammo Hung film Magnificent Butcher.
JeeJa Yin trained for 2 years before filming even began for Chocolate. Pinkaew knew he wanted to make a film about autistic children and martial arts with a female lead. He found JeeJa Yin and her two year training began even before there was a script. Then the film itself took 2 years to complete.

The characters are well drawn, especially the Thai mafia boss PongPat and his lady boy side kick who look like they are wearing clothes borrowed from Miami Vice and Pat Butcher. Some lovely leopard print chiffon blouses and snakeskin loafers sported.
JaeeJa Yin’s power lies in her apparent frailty. Cute but not beautiful, androgynous, awkward, skinny and unremarkable - an unlikely action hero who surprises you with her fighting power. She topples men twice her size with muay thai style kicks. And fierce looking gangster girls and lady boys too. Dressed like a scruffy street urchin in patchwork clothes her ‘schoolgirl’ look is not played up to – refreshingly so. Her femininity is not highlighted, as we have seen before with other teen female martial arts characters (such as the schoolgirl GoGo Yaburi in Kill Bill).

Autism is fairly delicately handled in the film. Except for during the final fight scene – set in a Japanese tea house in Bruce Lee homage by the way – when a young autistic counterpart fighter who looks like a 1980s break dancer in his Adidas tracksuit is brought out to fight JeeJa. Where did he spring from? This was a bit strange and unnecessary. Apart from this it was handled well.
As usual, don’t switch off when the credits start to roll – all the bloopers are here. The ooh, that’s gotta hurt bits where we see that the actors really were hurt in the making of the film. One guy even gets hospitalised! Thai hospital food looks alright though, rice, meat, veg and chilli sauce on the side. Mmm.
Talking of food I’ve been trying to think up a better title to the film than Chocolate which does seem a bit odd. But then perhaps it’s supposed to reflect the unassuming nature of Zen – she’s not what she appears to be.

I definitely recommend Chocolate. Out now to buy on DVD.

19th November - Byron Lee Tribute - Playlist

• Dumplins - Byron Lee & The Dragonaires
  
• Kingston Calypso - Byron Lee & The Dragonaires
  
• Jamaica Ska - Byron Lee & The Dragonaires
  
• Watermelon Man Ska - Byron Lee & The Dragonaires
  
• Frankenstein Ska - Byron Lee & The Dragonaires
  
• Rocksteady - Byron Lee & The Dragonaires
  
• Maria - Mighty Sparrow & Byron Lee
  
• She's Royal - Byron Lee & The Dragonaires
  
• Sweets for My Sweet - The Carib Beats
  
• Sugar Face - Unknown Chinese Singer
  

Lucky Cat Special on Wed 19th November

I have a 'clearspot' slot on Resonance FM this Wednesday 19th November 8-9pm. You can tune in on 104.4FM or through the Resonance web site.
Chinese/Jamaican Reggae legend Byron Lee recently passed away and I will be paying tribute to him on this Lucky Cat Special.

It has been a sad couple of months actually, with the passing of my favourite Reggae singer of all time Alton Ellis, then Byron Lee and then South African singer Miriam Makeba.
However, I am happy to know the music they shared with the world. And I am grateful for it. RIP.

Lucky Cat returns to the airwaves on January 6th 2009

I am pleased to announce that Lucky Cat Series 3 will begin on Tuesday 6th January 2009 on Resonance 104.4FM. The weekly programme will be broadcast live for one hour, expect the usual mix of music (from Ska to Cantopop), interviews, movie news and reviews and brand new recipes in the Dim Sum Lunch box.
To join my mailing list or to make any requests or suggestions for the new series please email me at luckycatzoe (at sign) gmail.com

Tune in via 104.4FM in London or via www.resonancefm.com anywhere.

ICA concerts - Sa Dingding & Dengue Fever

Two dates for your diary:
Sa Dingding (pictured) plays at the ICA in London next week
www.sadingding.co.uk

Also at the ICA LA/Cambodian pyschedilc pop rock group Dengue Fever play on Thursday 20th November. Check out the excellent documentary film about the band:
www.sleepwalkingthroughthemekong.com
Also well worth checking out is the trailer here for the documentary film on the lost Rock n Roll of Cambodia Don't Think I've Forgotten
www.cambodianrock.com

See www.ica.org.uk for details and booking info.

Lucky Cat Mix for 'On The Wire' BBC Lancashire

Here it is, one whole hour of musical listening pleasure. This went out on 20th September on the BBC Lancashire show 'On The Wire' run by Mr Steve Barker. OTW blog here: http://otwradio.blogspot.com/

No talking just music. Like Dirt.
Lloyd Terrell - Birth Control- PAMA
Roland Alphonso - El Pussycat - Island
Prince Buster - Pussycat Bite Me - FAB
Lee Dorsey - The Kitty Cat Song -Stateside
The Skatalites - Chinatown - Top Deck
The Chiffons - Oh My Love - Laurie
Laurel Aitken - Shoo Bee Boo Bee -NU BeatNat King Cole - Cachito - Capitol
Poon Sow Keng - Why Should I Remember - EMI
Joesphine Siao Fong Fong - Ding Dong Twist - Angel Records
The Echoes - Ding Dong - Roulette
Eartha Kitt - Somebody Bad Stole the Wedding Bell - Official
Hortense Ellis - Melody Life - Third World
Connie Francis - Jealous of You - EMI
Miss Yao Lee - Suspicious Heart - PATHE
Etta James - Fool That I am - PYE Records Ltd
Lydia Mendoza - Mal Hombre - Folk Lyrics Records
Lady Ann & Alborosie - Informer - FORWARD
Dave & Ansel Collins - Karate -Techniques
Rita & Sakura - Talk of the Town -Columbia
The Lyrics - Music Like Dirt - Coxsone Records
Sam Cooke - Farewell My Darling -RCA
Sizzla - Just One of Those Days - VP

Axis Sound System DJ Gig 1st November

I will have the pleasure of DJing on the Axis sound system at the end of this month. So if you are located North please do check out the sound at Marshalls Bar in Hebden Bridge on Saturday 1st November. More about the mighty Axis soundsystem here:
www.axissound.co.uk
Really looking forward to it, and there's Caribbean food! Yum. Will try and take some pics.

Plum Valley dim sum for Autumn Moon Festival

Today I went to Chinatown with my family and we saw the lion dance for the Autumn Moon Festival. There were also some stalls an other entertainment going on, organised by the London Chinatown Association.
We decided to go to the new restaurant Plum Valley on Gerrard Street as I had heard good things about it. It is kind of a budget version of Hakkasan. Black wooden minimalist interiors with seating booths. I do like a booth. Also handy with small children as they can be 'trapped' in between 2 people in a booth (my daughter is very curious and constantly trying to escape). We ordered some dim sum and a couple of noodle dishes. All excellent. The prawn and chive dumplings had a nice spicey kick to them, the lo pak ko (turnip cakes) were exquisite (not greasy or rubbery and packed full of shrimps and pork). Lucky Cat recommends!
After that we went to the bakery next door and I bought a mini lotus seed paste moon cake. An afternoon well spent.

Credit Crunch Noodles Recipe

Packets of Asian brand noodles can make for a tasty and cheap meal and you'll feel less like a student if you add some fresh ingredients.

• One packet seafood flavour noodles
  
• Handful of beansprouts
  
• Handful of chopped coriander
  
• Handful of tiny, dried baby anchovies
  
• 1 egg
  
• 2 Finely chopped muschrooms
  
• 1 finely chopped spring onion or small leek
  
• 1 clove of garlic cut into slices
  
• Water
  
• Oil
  

First boil the egg for 8 minutes (nearly hard boiled but still a bit of a squidgey yolk). Set aside. Stir fry the baby anchovies, chopped mushrooms and spring onion for 2 mins then add the garlic slices. When nicely browned and fragrant remove from heat. Follow the instructions on the noodle packet to cook noodles. When done and in a bowl peel the egg and slice in half, place on top of noodles. Scatter the fried ingredients over the egg and noodles, then the beansprouts then the coriander. Add a wedge of lime if you want to get really sophisticated. Tuck in.

On the Wire mix 20th September 2008

Mr Steve Barker, journalist, broadcaster, dub connoisseur and current Beijing resident, very nicely asked me to contribute a one hour mix for his BBC Lancashire music show On The Wire. I am pleased to announce that my Lucky Cat mix will be aired on Saturday 20th September on BBC Radio Lancashire on 103.9, 95.5 & 104.5 FM and on 855 & 1557 AM and on local digital radio (all of these apply to Lancashire residents otherwise check the podcast or blog links below).
Podcast here:
http://odeo.com/channels/47901/rss.xml
Blog here:
http://otwradio.blogspot.com
About Steve Barker
BBC Lancashire page
http://14tracks.com - Steve's selections

Gratuitous Tony Leung Chiu Wai pic

from the upcoming John Woo film Red Cliff

Books of Interest

Some books I have enjoyed in recent times:

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami
Atmospheric, weird, Japanese novel. Some startling imagery and Lynch-esque surreal story lines. Some of the novel focuses on the Japanese WWII history and at times I found the horrific war events hard to read. However I soldiered on (pun intended) and found the characters' stories enthralling. It's a long read but worth it in the end, it will have you thinking about the characters and the events long after you have read the last page. Just one more criticism, too many sandwich descriptions! More tofu please.

Journey to the West - Cheng'En Wu
Monkey. Pigsy. Sandy. Tripitaka. All the gang are here! After seeing the Japanese TV show 'Monkey Magic' as a child I was fascinated to read the original text (well, a translated and heavily abbreviated version). A truly wonderful and inspiring read. Which reminds me I saw that someone has kindly uploaded the animated film Uproar in Heaven to youtube. Check it out here, beautiful animation:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXUsvPvLUKw

Buddha - Osamu Tezuka
The life of Buddha (the 5th century BC Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama) told in 8 volumes of Manga. Drawn beautifully by the 'don dada' of Manga himself Tezuka. Addictive reading, it seems a challenge at first but speeds by. Jokes a plenty too. Thanks to Navindh for lending me the books.

Lucky Cat 16th October 2007