“On Safari – Miyuki’s African Dreams…”

It’s a Sunday afternoon, the frigid weather has see-sawed back to crazy warm and turned all our snow to sloppy slush today… But, not to worry… I’m all warm, dry, and cozy at home. And… lucky me… with no distractions… I got all my management duties and paperwork completely finished for the upcoming week, and that means I’ve the whole evening off from work! Carolyn has been gone all day with some of her friends from the college on a quick impulsive shopping excursion to the city, so it’s just lil’ ol’ me and Ting-ting here at the apartment right now. With some precious “me time” for a change, I thought I’d kick back… let my thoughts drift a bit… and catch all my Gentle Visitors up on the life of your Favorite Catgirl Princess once more. Yep… that’s right. It’s Diary Time!  😀

Run Run Shaw Passes Away

A sad bit of news, legendary Hong Kong movie mogul Shao Yifu better known worldwide as Sir Run Run Shaw died this Tuesday. He was 106 years old. 😦

Certainly for this wee Catgirl and others who grew up in the heyday of US televisions fascination with the prolific output of Kung-Fu films he produced, he will always be fondly remembered. To quote a great truism… “They just don’t make ’em like that anymore…”.

This crazy lil’ girl loved (and still loves today…) the classic films that came from the Shaw studios… “Come Drink With Me” with the legendary Cheng Pei Pei…Chang Cheh’s “The One-Armed Swordsman”… “Five Fingers of Death” and “The Five Deadly Venoms”… and perhaps my favorite, “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin” from director Lau Kar-leung known here in the US as “The Master Killer”.

But Shaw didn’t limit their output solely to Kung Fu films… and as I grew older, I came to enjoy their other forays into action, sci-fi, horror, and fantasy as well. The number of people my age who were influenced by him and his company worldwide are innumerable and he will be remembered always with respect and nostalgic fondness.

“Kung Fu Cooking Girls” – My Dream Come True….

There are days… while surfing about the Web that I come across something that tickles my fancy and brings me back to memories of the days when I was just a wee lil’ girl, who more than anything in the whole wide world, wanted to be all “kung fu-y” and badass…. just like all those amazing women in the cheesy kung fu films that filled my Saturday afternoon TV watching.

Sure… there was always a Hero in those films….but the girls….. they looked just like me!! They had the same dark hair… the same eyes… the same tiny delicate build…. but nobody, and I mean nobody, ever messed with them (except the Evil villian of course… but then that’s his job, Hehehe!!). For a little Asian girl growing up in the US…. and the only Asian girl in my school at the time… these were potent images that always reminded me that I too, could one day grow up to be both exotic, pretty, as well as kick serious butt… just like the boys. (Maybe even better… 😉 )

In that spirit…. I was always a bit disappointed that I never did gain any of those crazy mad martial art skills, becoming instead a cook in my Grown-up years. Outside of some Tai Chi classes waaay back in college, I’ve never ever had the opportunity to study anything as amazing as that. Usually… except for a movie now and again… I almost forget the fanciful dreams of a little girl and her “Kung Fu Princess” aspirations…. But then…. along comes a cute, nifty lil’ cartoon to remind me that there are always possibilities that you can somehow manage to still be both…. 😉