Cool tv talent contest facts you will know!

Hello fans, I think Pop-stars and Idol have become legends, so what does it mean they have origins dating back further than expected?

1. The first Middle Eastern tv talent shows: the Middle East tv talent show sub-genre made Arab and Middle East history in the mid to late seventies, because it's probably an Algerian invention! I think according to an old edition (possibly a second edition, from 2000) of Rough Guide's Middle East/Europe music book, many talented stars from the seventies onwards have probably started their careers in some pioneering tv talent contests spoken in Arabic, that's interesting!

2. Many tv-made pop groups (regardless of nationality or language) have ironically short lives: why are many of the current pop-groups (you mean, pop groups created in a tv talent show) so crap and soulless? Is it because they use autotune and generate just as much controversy as their more natural elders, the Beatles and Monkees formula bands?

3. The first Indo-European tv talent shows, apart from English: oh dear, according to the DK/Kindersley's Spain book (my Tia Georgette owns this), it's ironic, the talent show genre currently dominates many Spanish-speaking pop music industries! I think the first non-Anglophone Western tv talent shows of the current generations (apart from Eurovision, which is surprisingly the oldest surviving such tv contest, although not a true one) may have been made in the seventies/eighties to nineties, regardless of continents and languages. I think Romania remains ahead of time when it comes to true television contests in as early as 1970, as is a large part of Germany in as early as the 1960s.

4. Many tv-made solo pop stars have surprisingly long careers: in their beginnings - like pop-groups made by tv, they entered a tv contest and sang song covers that are actually quite okay - even when you make a close up at their pretty wide-ranging qualities of singing and other talents, regardless of their profiles!

5. The first Asian/advanced tv talent shows: the Asian tv talent show genre unquestionably made history in the mid to late 80s, because I think it's probably a Japanese invention with a big twist. Being quite ahead for its original time, it can be split into a possible group of language-bound sub-genres (even though they need slightly more description) but only has three generations, because it gets bastardised fast!

6. Contestants dead or alive: even though the bounds between countries are kind of unworthy, the winning contestant (dead or alive) is in the top of a talent pyramid. Some notable contestants in some controversial talent shows could have been dead.

Netflix and chill!

Hello fans, welcome to the addictive world of Netflix!

Netflix is currently here at our home since this Autumn! It has a wide range of films and shows to offer.

Miniforce: the incredibly popular South Korean show has many dubs and is largely inspired by both Transformers and Power Rangers - and to some extent - Sonic the Hedgehog games (particularly the four title characters). This includes: Vietnamese, the English "test dub" (mostly seen on Youtube), Indonesian, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, and the TUTUM English dub (mostly seen on Netflix). Like most locally Korean-made "Aeni" exports, it is destined to become an instant classic.

G.O.R.A: Turkey's answer to Zathura, this time featuring a Turkish man captured by aliens! It's kinda crap, because it's made of crude cgi animation and the same human character who badly speaks English! Ironically, it has an equally successful sequel called A.R.O.G (this time it got a world first - being an unofficial film homage to Alley Oop!), because the actor (who is also a comedian) is big in Turkey.

Pajaros Volando: a worthy 2010 Argentinian film about an 'almost-becoming-a-hoax' alien encounter! This features a Spanish-speaking hippie community (played by comedians and actors) trying to encounter some UFO thing? It's in the end that the poncho-clad priest had only actually encountered it! Many hilarious moments include: the titular character playing a guitar and a funny lady teasing the men, as if they think her brown alien puppet (presumably E.T.) is alive!?

Dove shop laserdiscs

Hello

I went to the dove shop at Glenn Innes, looking for something amazing.

An NTSC coded Wayne's World 2 DVD is really amazing! I also saw a Hong Kong laserdisc, which is a huge CD or silver vinyl by the way!

It is a karaoke one, I believe it is made in 1993 by Hong Kong company Star Entertainment.

This is the first time I bought a laserdisc at a thrift shop!

Chic Chat, Kiwi cousin of Peppermint Park

Hello fans.

It's controversial but important at the same time that I want to define what is unintentionally creepy and disturbing even by today's standards!

Chic Chat: one of NZ’s less well known kids shows has been a permanent television archive resident for a long time.

Therefore, the only good videotape of it is known to exist in the archive itself.

This is because it probably has a current reputation for being awkward and gross to Kiwi kids with the host's puppets speaking in pirate accents!

Even though it has many differences to the equally notorious Peppermint Park, particularly the Scottish accented rodent star Willie McNabb and the show's decent puppeteer host Chic Littlewood, it shares something in common with it, gross and awkwardly embarrassing puppetry!

It probably ran for two years in the early 80s, when dad was a model. Peppermint Park came later, in 1987.

Peppermint Park was set in a defunct American theme park of the same name, while Chic Chat's setting was a fake afternoon backyard.

Marsupilami day, coming on January 31st!

Welcome to my site!

Let's celebrate 65 years after the marsupilami's first appearance into the comics on Jan 31st 1952. 

We found out that the best known marsupilami species had become widespread in South America, but now rarer in its native African land.

Happy 65th anniversary for the big break into pop culture!

What's a marsupilami community?

Welcome!

Marsupilamis are a fictional and mythical group of African monotremes. The best known member of this 7-strong family is the lesser marsupilami, which lives in many habitats from jungle to city and may have been introduced to South America in colonial times.

There are myths about marsupilamis, these are

1. Marsupilamis are monogamous or solitary: sometimes.

2. They are prone to laughter: no they ain't, as the Brazilian Portuguese intro for Disney's tv show fad proved.

3. The adult male is the lead: huh, this is not a sensual answer? I suggestively proved that a large middle aged female is the actual lead of a tangle, therefore she's the grand alpha poobah.

4. They swing through branches with tails, hang on vines, or swim: it ain't so in My Friend Marsupilami's first episode, "First Encounter"! It proved that a marsupilami can surf through the trees like Disney's Tarzan! This is possibly also true of the tangle's lead, who brachiates with arms.

What's a marsupilami community?

A marsupilami community is called a tangle, because a crowd of them would cram each other while bouncing through the jungle in a stampede.

There are many facts that even the most serious of fans can't talk about.

1. Marsupilamis are loyal neighbours but can be dangerous when provoked: yes, I saw that in my dreams last week! It is more likely that you'll be ripped in your face by a tangle of teenaged individuals who snarl at you, than by an out-of-work adult male or a big old female who tried to find a snack.

2. An alpha female is called a poobah: here she is! Myth tells that older males often beat their chests and can yell when excited, angry or nervous. But it ain't so for the reality, as the furry poobah proves that she can both yell and chest beat because she is their leader! The offspring are usually called pipsqueaks, because of their little size and are young in age.

3. They are cool at mimicry and vocabulary, but awkward in speech: this is the one thing that marsupilamis can do! 

Pop figure crossword for sinophiles and baltophiles

Welcome to my site everyone!

Have you seen these pop stars from the Baltic and Nordic states?

AikaKone (Finland), ILGI (Latvia), SKAMP (Lithuania), Satellites LV (Latvia), Autobuss Debesis (Latvia), Eppu Normaali (Finland), Milk Adventures (Latvia), Dingo (Finland), Brainstorm/Prata Vetra (Latvia), Silvi Vrait (1951-2013), Ladezers (Latvia), Violeta Riaubiskyte (Lithuania), Kerli (Estonia), Eolika (Latvia), N.E.O (Lithuania), New Moon/Jauns Meness (Latvia), Ainars Mielavs (Latvia), Ieva Akuratere (Latvia), Vanilla Ninja (Estonia, 2002-08), and Gerli Padar (Estonia)

Have you seen these pop stars from the Sinophone world?

Teresa Teng/Deng Li Jun (Taiwan, 1953-95), Aaron Kwok (Hong Kong), Sara Chang/Zhang Qiang (China), Feng Fei Fei (Taiwan, 1953-2012), Cheng Lin (China), L.A. Boyz (Taiwan, 1992-97), Faye Wong (China/Hong Kong), Coco Lee (Hong Kong/USA), Yang Yuying (China), You Ya/Jillian Yo (Taiwan), Janet Lee/ Lee Chai Fong (Malaysia), Ayugo Huang (Taiwan), Eric Moo (Malaysia), Cheng Fangyuan (China), Lam Wern Fook (Singapore), Tse Ling Ling/Bella Tse (Taiwan/Hong Kong), Liu Huan (China), Hebe Tien (Taiwan), Sally Yeh/Yip (Taiwan/Hong Kong/Canada), Wei Wei (China), Rainie Yang (Taiwan), Candy Lo (Hong Kong), Sun Nan (China), Ouyang Fei Fei (Taiwan/Japan), Liu Shaw Hi (Taiwan), Chen Ming (China), Jody Chiang (Taiwan), Chiu Ching Yun (Malaysia, 1947-2006), Wu Shengzhi (Taiwan, 1944-83), and Gopah (Taiwan)

I guess too many of them (in our world!?) went undocumented of course...