First of all, thank you all for visiting and joining Talk da Talk! Since the beginning, we have come a long ways to make this all happen. It's a fun way to learn English and to meet nice people from all over!

But our books and the Talk da Talk English Club are not the only way that you all can be connected to Talk da Talk, we now have something new called 'TalkBox'

TalkBox is this thing where you all can be on the net and chat and see people from all over. I was on TalkBox chat the other day, and realized that it is really fun! All these people were online and you can talk to whoever you want and see whoever is 'seeable' at the time! I chatted with some nice person from Shanghai who just wants to talk to people in English, and some other from Chongqing I believe.
They all seem very friendly and willing to talk to people.  It is kinda like MSN, but in this group, you can meet and talk to people who have the same interests as you, and mainly that is learning English.

Who knows, maybe you can chat with someone and you both can improve just by talking with each other.  Just like the name of our company, if you want to learn english well you have to Talk da Talk!!

Everytime before the olympics, there is this very special event called the Special Olympics. it is a stage where the mentally challenged athletes can bring their skills together from around the world and compete to see who's best!

Every year there are different spokesperson that will back the event in order to give it more exposure and awareness to the event so more people can take part in making the event better. What is really special this time around, is that the 2007 Special Olympics will be held in Shanghai, China, our very own backyard!

The 2007 promises to be the biggest Special Olympics to date. there will be just tons of people filing in to China to take place in the competition or in the audience stands. How do i know it will be the biggest? Because I hosted a few events for the special olympics and met most of their spokesperson for 2007.

Our friend Yao Ming was the first. They call him the moving great wall, and standing at 7 feet 6 inches tall, there is no bigger Chinese athlete that is as high profile and known in ther world as he is! Top NBA center for the Houston Rockets and promises to be even better yet.

The second time around, other stars from Asia and Hollywood took part. That was quite fun since I do watch quite a bit of films, meeting them in person was a trip!

From China there were actor Hsu Zheng, (Vicky) Zhao Wei, from Hong Kong there was Karen Mok, and from Hollywood there was Collin Farrell and Eva Mendez! What a star-studded evening! They were all here in Shanghai to try to raise awareness of the Special Olympics for 2007 in Shanghai, and to tell people to get more involved like they are to try to make the event even better than it is.

It was quite touching to see how all these well respected and well known internation celebrities can put themselves down to earth and hang out and be with the special athletes.

When it comes to doing something good, it's not really who you are, but how by being who you are can make a positive difference for others. I think by them all being here, it has already made a differece for alot of people.I know it did for me!

It is always nice to have that “Kodak moment” when you are out at a picnic, at a wedding, or just out travelling somewhere. We always want to capture that moment of excitement so we can look back and say, "ah, i remember that time!"  Well, for some it's fun, but for us who are in the entertainment business, taking pictures is sometimes more tedious than most!

I am already one of those who doesn't take many pictures for work or what have you, but sometimes when really need be, I still have to be in front of that camera and need to flash as big of a smile as I can!

Not to say i don't like to take pictures sometimes, but after awhile, your smile can get stuck! Just look at them pics for Talk da Talk, they may look easy to do, but it is pretty hard work!

It's easy to just snap and go and put out your little peace sign, but when you have to make sure that your make up is not smeared, hair is not out of whack, shirt is not too wrinkled, and your fly is not open, there is alot you have to deal with!

The lighting has to be just right, and the camera angle has to be perfect the focus has to be there and my smile can't look stupid...well, can't look stupid period! When all that has to be in place, it gets to be a pain.

If you don't know what I am talking about, try getting married and take some wedding photos...you'll see. So next time you see a picture in our TALK magazine, think of all the effort we put in to make you all happy!!

Hey! If anyone gets the chance, check me out on CCTV 9 on the program Up Close where I will be talking about life, and Talk da Talk and everything in between! When is it on? Well, stay tuned and keep your eyes open on CCTV 9 or  Talk da Talk,we will keep you all updated!

It is really funny because I am more used to interviewing people on programs and not being interviewed. So me just being me, basically I just started rabbling on by myself and didn't give the host too much of a chance to speak, ha ha!

What's fun about it, was Eyee, the host of the program, is actually a good friend of ours, so I pretty much felt right at home. That's right, eyee, take a break and leave the talking to the Wu Man!! In reality, it was kinda weird that since we are all friends, we really have to watch ourselves and not go too overboard with the way we talk to each other!

Friends have a tendancy to be too comfortable with each other and ending up saying things we shouldn't say on television or for the general public. What's even funnier, Eyee's husband was at the program too, so that made it twice as tough for me not to poke fun at him! But, nonetheless, I still did.  It will probably get edited out though!  As to what I did and what happened at the show? Keep you eyes on Talk da Talk and Up Close on CCTV 9!!

Home Sweet Home!

No matter where you are, what you are doing, there is still no better place than home!

A have been working here in asia for quite some time now, but no matter what, i will always try to go back to seattle to visit my family and friends. the reason seattle is "home" is because i pretty much grew up spending my junior high, high school, and university there which shaped me the way i am today. also, my mom is still residing there, and where mom is, that is where home is!!

Another reason Seattle is such a nice place to be, is because of the weather. yeah I understand that people think seattle is all rainy and all that, but if you have ever spent a summer there, you will understand why we all love living in the place!the summers there are beautiful with clear blue skies almost all the time, low humidity and just basically clean and crispy air that just makes you want to breathe a few extra times per minute just to smell the trees and grasses aroma which, in my mind, can be very theraputic! and for someone like me who cannot survive summers without airconditioning, seattle is one place where during summer days, temperature can reach up to 33 degrees celcius, but come sunset, the nite becomes cool and breezy with no a/c necessary to have a good nite's sleep! therefore you can save a ton on electricity bill!!

Asia is a very busy and prosperous place, but after all the hustle and bustle, i think one needs to take a little break, catch your breath, and relax and recharge to go even further in life, and seattle is just the place to be! so no matter how busy i am, i always looking forward to go to seattle and spend some really good and quiet time with my mom and visite some old partners in crime! take my word for it, no matter where you call home and no matter how busy and successful you are, take some time out and go home and enjoy the simple things in life. especially for all of you who have similar background as me, it will really make you understand and appreciate life alot more when you are back in a place where you are just who you are...just like twenty some odd years ago......

There are many places in China that are very nice, but to my surprise, I went to Qingdao for the first time awhile ago and I liked it a lot!!! It’s hard to find sunshine and good beaches in China, but Qingdao has it! I have heard so much about the place and I finally had the pleasure of going there for the first time a bit ago. After I arrived, what I found was bright sunshiny blue skies, nice ocean breeze, and lots of very nice sandy beaches. What's nice about Qingdao is that on certain streets, you can't even find any motorcycles or bicycles because of certain regulations. The streets are clean, and the roads and structures are all very neat and tidy. What we also ran into, was the annual beer festival, tons of people having a good time sipping brew and enjoying the festivities! Qingdao is known for its beer and there is nothing better than downing a gulp of ice cold brew after a hot afternoon of pure sweating! I love to have a few beers here and there, but I had the time of my life going to the Qingdao Brewery for a little tour. One of the ex-plant managers was showing me around, and let me tell ya, the process is amazing! So many people around the world enjoy a nice cold one here and there, but how many people can say they have tasted the freshest beer right off the bottling line? Well, I had the pleasure of doing just that while there. The ex-manager let me grab a bottle right after it was capped off the bottling line! Now is there a fresher beer out here? If there is, please let me know! The beer itself is probably no big deal, but to grab something right after it is completed and before it ends up somewhere in Shanghai or any where else in the world for that matter, is a whole different feeling! We all like to eat freshly cooked food, but freshly brewed beer right after it is done? I don’t think that many people can say they have! So if you all have time, next time you down a bottle of brew, think about going to the source and learn a bit more about how it is done. It's a difficult process that'll make you appreciate every sip you take in the future!

As an event host, one of the worries or concerns that we have is that the guest or star we are interviewing doesn't cooperate or respond to the event they are attending. This is especially true when we do events with sports superstars like some of the NBA players. There are some NBA players that are notorious for being a pain in the butt to work with, but not so with KG, Kevin Garnett.

There was an event the other day for the launch of his new line of shoes called the KG3 and he was there in person for this event. I figured that since he's an all-star and all, I assumed he'd be a difficult one to deal with, but much to my surprise, from the first minute of talking to him, he was all smiles and all friendly! That really settled me down because in order for the fans to have a good time, the guest has to play along and work with the fans. He did much more than that. He was so friendly, that after a couple of one-on-one and three-on-three games, one of the players just blatantly asked for the jersey off his back, and what did KG do? He took it right off and gave it to the boy! The fans and that boy went berserk! So I asked him why he did that, and all KG said was, "because he asked for it!" KG was having so much fun he offered spontaneously to find two of the loudest fans and give them each a shoe that he is wearing! The crowd went nuts. Everyone was yelling at the top of their lungs and jumping and waving until we picked two lucky fans to give the shoes to. It was a very nice and friendly gesture from KG’s part. It really made the kids' day! Event though I didn't get one, I was still also happy for them!

There are still a few more NBA players coming to China, and if they can all be like KG, then life will be so much easier for people like me! Keep an eye out for more stories this year when I will be hosting more events with these sports superstars.

It’s that time of year again in Shanghai. Come June every year the heat and mugginess sets in and temperature reaches 35 degrees almost everyday. You walk out of your apartment and immediately feel this 'warmth' attacking your body. It's nice to feel warm, but this feels like a heat blanket stuck to your body that you can't peel off! Being in the entertainment business sure seems glamorous when you see the stars on TV in their nice garbs doing what they do, but have you ever thought about how they felt while they were shooting the programs? You can't really look like you are sweating your brains out on TV so as an actor or presenter you have to constantly stay 'dry looking' which means you have to wipe your face and put on powder every 5 seconds under the searing heat! It's barely bearable if you are wearing only a t-shirt, but if you are an actor shooting a kung-fu fighting epic drama, then you are really screwed! First of all, the 35 degrees is bad enough as it is, imagine working in that temperature with humidity reaching 80 percent and wearing four layers of clothes and at the same time running around fighting like and action hero. If you haven't experienced that, then good for you…don't!!! I don’t recommend it. The sweat on your body is not wiped off with a tissue or towel, instead, you have to take your clothes off and wring it like you've just washed your clothes in a bucket of water! Only in this case, the water is your own sweat! You get tired and you get dizzy. Your clothes get stuck on your skin for about 13 hours a day so you get skin rashes and it feels like your skins is about to rot. Your socks and underwear are wet too with all the sweat rolling down your body. You stink and smell like sour garbage and with all the make-up on your face that's suppose to make you look good, you have to keep it on so washing your face is out of the question! You may be wondering why not find somewhere to hide from the sun. Well, Asia is not Hollywood where stars each get a trailer. Actors and actresses here just hope there is a tree to hide under nearby. It is understandable how people like summertime where you can go out to the beach, put on your name brand shades and look cool while driving your convertible, but for an actor, it is pure hell... you have to experience it to believe it! So while summer time is fun for some, for people like us is only the beginning of a long dreaded 3 months!