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Rawle Austin's Blog - Positive life commentary...

So the OSCARs have come and gone.

Forest Whittaker won best actor for The Last King of Scotland. Again, haven't seen it yet. He's been making great films for ages so I'm happy he's been recognised. Check out Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai and Species for a flavour of his style.

Also, Dame Helen Mirren did well winning best actress for playing the Queen. Haven't seen that film yet but will get round to it.

Jennifer Hudson won best supporting actress for her role in Dreamgirls. Watching that film she definitely had the most presence on screen and its a great boost for her as she lost out in American Idol. This will be the start of something big.

And I have to mention Martin Scorcese. Finally winning best director after seven previous attempts for The Departed. This was an adaptation of the Hong Kong film trilogy Infernal Affairs.

Haven't seen it yet but I intend to.

His Gangs of New York was an ok film which had a remarkable performance by Daniel Day Lewis.

Read the full OSCAR results on its site;

http://www.oscar.com/

Went up to Reading for the first time last Sunday. Was invited to a Chinese New Year celebration being held at Reading Chinese school. Very nice it was too.

The morning kicked off with a vigourous Dragon dance entrance that was quite spectacular.

The event also awarded the children for their efforts during the previous school year. The stage performances featured dancers, musicians, singers and more. The Mayor of Reading was also in attendance.

Next year 2008 will mark the school's 30th anniversary. Should be quite a party!.

All in all, a nice postscript to the Chinese New Year celebrations.

Further to seeing Uproar in Heaven at the National Film Theatre (NFT) imagine my shock and surprise when the following morning I couldn't find my mobile phone!

After a frantic search I deduced that it must have fallen out of my coat pocket while I was in the cinema.

A quick call to the NFT security department discovered that somebody had handed it in.

Great to see that honesty is alive and well in olde London Town.

As part of the season showcasing Shanghai Animation Week at the National Film Theatre I went to see Uproar in Heaven (Da Nao Tian Gong) at 8.45pm.

This was a cartoon movie featuring the Monkey King.

It's a very traditional Chinese story and though the film was made in 1965 the charm and heart of the story were strong and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Monkey King was a mischieveous but fair ruler whose curiosity earned him the wrath of the gods.

He fought many battles and the way these are shown in the film is ingenious. The style reminded me a little of the early Disney cartoon movies and I loved it.

The whole thing was complemented by Chinese traditional music which added a layer of awesomeness.

Directed by Wan Lai Ming I give this film 8 out of 10 and recommend it to all.

Find out more about showing times here;

http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/southbank/seasons/shanghai/

Went to the premiere of an advert called Lai See (Red Envelope) at 10.30 am which is designed to get more people to volunteer in the community.

The event was hosted and televised by the Community Channel and in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebrations it was fitting that the commercial was produced by and starred British East Asian talent.

The event was well attended and I met many volunteers who do much work across the capital.

As I've been working in a volunteer capacity for three years with Chinatown Magazine I can testify that its a great way to help out and give something back to the community.

Read more about the whole campaign here;

http://www.communitychannel.org/content/blogcategory/127/116/

And read about Chinatown Magazine here;

http://www.chinatownthemagazine.com/

Well, its more reading, studying and applying actually.

A double whammy.

Firstly, Project Management for Dummies by Stanley E Portny, which is great to help me get more organised, efficient and productive. Its a very interesting topic.

And secondly, Quality Control for Dummies by Larry Weber and Michael Wallace. This is another skill I want to learn more about and apply it to all ventures I undertake.

Both these topics will greatly enhance my general understanding and will be applied to help on my quest to help people by building up Growlersworld.com into the World's Greatest Online Experience.

Giving you, the reader a more satisfying journey.

Lifelong learning is something I can thoroughly recommend.

It's all about getting more skills.

I recently added some older site updates to the site to give it a sense of history.

It's been a learning curve that I'm still on and I'm eager to continue.

One thing you'll notice is that, for a while, I was planning to set up an online toy shop.

Growlersworld Toys.

Well, after a lot of research and homework I found out that the idea wouldn't have been profitable to justify starting it up.

But the knowledge learnt along the way was invaluable and I'll take it forward to other ventures.

You live and learn.

Today, Tuesday 20 February 2007 is Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day as we know it here in the UK.

I like 'em with lemon juice, golden syrup or sprinkled sugar.

Lovely.

After a long wait, Heroes has come to UK TV screens.

Being shown on the Sci-fi Channel at 10pm on Mondays this is basically, superhero fiction meets LOST.

There are no spandex costumes but plenty of super-powers, drama and intrigue.

There's even superhero comic references as one of the characters is a huge fan.

Though some of this ground has been covered in the comic book series Rising Stars by Top Cow and newuniversal by Marvel Comics, its fantastic to see this concept on the small screen.

I'm loving it and I know you will too.

Learn more at;

http://www.scifiuk.com/heroes/

also http://www.heroestheseries.com/

and http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/

Thanks again Mr Daly for reminding me.

Had a great time at the Chinese New Year celebrations in London. Spent the day with a good friend and her family for lunch and dinner.

This really made a difference from the usual walking around and siteseeing as it was a traditional family Chinese celebration.

Took many pictures and just enjoyed the atmosphere.

A great start to the Year of the Pig.

"Wishing you prosperity and health."

Last Thursday I attended the launch of the China in London season held at the Langham Hotel which featured speakers such as London Mayor Ken Livingstone and the Chinese Ambassador to London, Zha Peixin.

There'll be many events happening around London to showcase Chinese culture including exhibitions, film screenings and performances.

The focus of this season will be Shanghai so have a look and a visit to learn more.

You may have already seen the Chinese lantern style lights up at Oxford Circus and Regent Street. They look stunning!

Chinese New Year officially starts on 18th February (the day and month changes each year). As China is eight hours ahead of the UK they will have already welcomed the new year.

In London, on Sunday 18th the main Chinese New Year celebrations will be at Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and Chinatown. It'll be on from 12 noon to 5.30pm.

It's the biggest Chinese New Year celebration outside of China and over 250,000 people are expected to attend.

See more info about it here; http://www.chinatownchinese.co.uk

Also, The BFI National Film Theatre at the South Bank in London is having a Shanghai Animation week and will be showing some classic Chinese cartoons on the big screen.

It runs from the 18th to the 27th of February.

I'll definitely be down there and the highlights will be Uproar in Heaven featuring the Monkey King and Lotus Lantern.

See more at it's website.

It's not everyday I get to meet a successful multi-millionaire businessman but I was given the opportunity to have a shared audience with David Tang at his China Tang restaurant in London's Dorchester hotel.

It was a great experience and hugely inspiring.

You see, nothing succeeds like success, so learning from people who have achieved this is invaluable.

It was clear that he was keen on helping people and enjoying life.

All in all, a real pleasure.

David Tang founded the Shanghai Tang clothing brand.

Read his recent article on China published by The Independent.

Memoirs of a Geisha is another film I've seen recently that's been on my to watch list for some time now.

I liked it and it entertained me.

One woman's journey through the world of the Geisha in the name of love.

I thought it lacked a little emotional intensity in places but the leading actresses, Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li and Michelle Yeoh were great together and that was one of the main attractions for me.

I haven't read the book it was based on but full marks for the costume designers and cinematographers who have helped to craft a beautiful looking film.

Indeed, both these aspects of the film won OSCARs last year.

I give it 7 out of 10 overall and it's definitely worth a viewing.

Learn more here;

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/memoirsofageisha/

Want to know what will be the hottest new gadget and technology on the block?

The latest, most advanced mobile or handheld?

Well the great and the good of the technology industry have gathered this week in Barcelona at the 3GSM Summit to show their wares and introduce the future.

Take a peek...

http://3gsmworldcongress.com/index.asp

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