Hello friends.  I’m writing from Queenstown, New Zealand and have some great news to announce… Jude and Maggie are engaged.  This next pic is the first one I took of them as they came out of the helicopter.  Jude proposed to Maggie atop a glacial mountain in New Zealand:

I wanted to write an email / message to all that were with me during my birthday celebration, but because of the Taiwan earthquake, Internet in China has been really bad.

So I’m back in New Zealand and this time we’ve been doing some pretty nutty stuff.  This shot is from the helicopter!  Yes, we took a helicopter around Queenstown and the views are nothing short of breathtaking.

We’re here to promote Li Bing Bing’s portraits album.  She’s a superstar.  Actually she reminds me of an ex crush of mine.  I’ll let you guess whom.   But man am I getting fat!  Please don’t let me be bald.  Short fat and bald would be the deadliest combination. 

I saw an ad on the bottom of my MSN messenger.  That space really works to get my attention… very smart.  It was annoying at first since it took up 5% of my precious desktop space but I’ve gotten some interesting information off of that thing.  Like how Snoop got arrested again.  Screening for the next Rocky film was disappointing for Stallone.  The cool thing I saw last week was for the next Zhang Yimou movie, Curse of the Golden Flower.  The cinematography, pictures and website give the movie a really cool feel that I just can’t put my finger on.  It just looks like a really dope movie. 

In China, they have started advertising the movie.  I went to the theatres the other day and posters promoting the movie were up.  I also noticed that the movie is coming out in China a full week before it is released in the US.  Needless to say, the Chinese piraters will surely get a MPG copy of that online.  Anyways, I’m straying from the topic of today’s post, which was so strategically placed as the title.  In all ads that I’ve seen, trailers of the movie, even the first page of the website, one glaring thing (actually 2) stares me right in the face and I can only assume naively that it was done on purpose.

Gong Li is such a hottie.  I don’t get excited over things that easily (ok, maybe I do), but I can’t wait until the movie comes out.  Yes, that excites me.  I also bought a Tumi suitcase today.  That was pretty cool too.

Man my English really bites.  Okay bye.

Some of the views were simply breathtaking.  Too bad the weather wasn’t warmer, it doesn’t get hot until December, January, but how awesome would it have been if I could just laze on the beach, swim in the ocean?

We were supposed to go swimming with the dolphins in North Island, but it rained and our trip to swim with the dolphins got cancelled 

Admit it.  You think I’m a great photographer. 

Photostream here.

I’m in New Zealand right now…  Staying at the Langham Hotel (their attention to detail is extremely good).  I’m accompanying 6 Chinese journalists to come experience New Zealand and learn about Air New Zealand’s initiatives in China.

More to follow, but what impressed me was the great food, fresh air and beautiful landscape.  Auckland feels kinda small though… but I suppose I cannot really compare it with Shanghai.  It’s apples and kiwi fruit.

Taking this picture was a real moving moment for me.  I’ve been working on the ANZ account for the last 5 months, and seeing this baby parked on the tarmac in front of the gates gave me a sense of fulfillment, satisfaction and excitement for my upcoming trip:

NZ088… this number was specially chosen by Air New Zealand for the first flight from the Chinese market.

While in New Zealand, I’ll be going to Auckland, Paihia, Omapere, and
Kerikeri visiting key sites… more to follow.  My Flickr album for
this trip will be here.

Months in the making…

3 Top Designers
8 Celebrities
74 Models
200 VIPs
Over 2000 Guests

The World of Calvin Klein event is going to be Asia’s largest Calvin Klein event ever… and it’s happening in Shanghai on November 3.  You got tix? 

November 3!!!!

I was working on a couple documents in the office, and just noticed while typing dates that tomorrow is September 11. It’s a date that I know of, but because I was in China when it happened, not something I am overly sensitive to. Being in China, you’re a bit sheltered from the bombardment of media from the US / North America. I read Google News often, but that’s limited to the morning or night of any particular day. I don’t see (or understand) the headlines when I walk past the newsstand, I don’t notice the news on the TVs as I walk past the stores, and it is/was not in daily conversation when at the dinner table. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to be constantly bombarded with this information at the time while in the US. A silent moment for all that were affected.

On a happier note, Jay-Z is confirmed to perform here. I’ve copied the article in case the link breaks:

http://shdx.piao.com.cn/en_piao/zhongjiye.asp?952

Remarks: Tickets are booking now!

Do people in China even know what hustler means? I wonder what went through the heads of the 50 – 60 year old cadre of censors when they reviewed Jay-Z’s lyrics. Fei chang hao!

Jay-Z concert date set
Wu Yingying
2006-08-25
FAMOUS American rapper Jay-Z will hold his first concert in China at Hongkou Football Stadium on October 23.

Jay-Z’s Shanghai stop is part of the singer’s Asian tour that will also take him to Taipei and Seoul, South Korea.

His fiancee, actress and singer Beyonce Knowles, will accompany him on the tour, said Sun Yun from KS production company, the concert’s promoter.

Sun said Beyonce is not scheduled to perform, but they hope to persuade her to appear on stage for a couple of tunes.

“Jay-Z’s agent contacted us two months ago. And we decided to cooperate after seeing that Black Eyed Peas was a box-office success last month,” said Sun, “Jay-Z is the leading trendsetter in American hiphop. He’s more highly regarded than the Black Eyed Peas in the same industry.”

Sun said ticket prices have not been confirmed. However, he said the lowest price will be about 100 yuan (US$12.50) and the highest no more than 1,000 yuan – roughly the same as tickets for the Black Eyed Peas.

Jay-Z was born Shawn Carter in 1969. He grew up in the Marcy projects in Brooklyn, New York.

Jay-Z has also created his own label called Roc-A-Fella Records. Some of his hit songs include “Money Ain’t a Thang,” “Cash, Money, Hoes,” and “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It To Me).”

“I saw the ‘Deja Vu’ video with his girlfriend, Beyonce. It is so hot. I hope Beyonce will be his guest performer in Shanghai,” said Candy Li, 23, a hiphop music lover.

One bonus of working in a larger company is that they go on company trips. Off to Koh Samui, Thailand I go!

Here are some pics from Beijing: