SPORTS OPINION: Ticket Scalping With Chinese Characteristics? Socialism this Ain’t…

By Answer Lv Zhuo

On October 14 and 17, the first-ever NBA games were played in China. When the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings played preseason games in Shanghai and Beijing, the NBA fans that went to see the live performance were justifiably excited--but they paid dearly for their thrill. Tickets were hard to get and expensive. Tickets for the two games could only be purchased through China Superticket, the sole ticketing agency officially appointed by the organizers, BMBS and NBA. Purchasers had to undergo a complex procedure to get their tickets. An individual purchaser could buy no more than four tickets.

Common tickets for the two games were priced from RMB 180 to RMB 3000. But fans could hardly get a ticket in that range; on the black-market, the price was much higher. A 1,900-RMB ticket sold for over 7,000 RMB--almost four times higher than the original price. 7,000 RMB means a lot to people living in Shanghai and Beijing; it’s about six times their average monthly income. The price was much too high for the common fan to afford. The highest price was 15,000 for a box. That’s only for rich people--very rich people. As a result, most fans had no chance to go to the games and get close to their idols, like Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and Chris Webber. It’s really a pity.

NBA commissioner David Stern said that the games were not aimed at making money but rather as an investment in the Chinese market; and he did spend millions to bring NBA basketball to China. However, if he really has plans to do it again as announced, perhaps he’d best make an investment in the common Chinese basketball fan.

SPORTS: Yao Ming Q & A

How He Answered That

Translated by Michelle Lee from Tiyutiandi (Sports Zone)

“I looked at him again and again in order to remind myself not to pass the ball to him by mistake.” --- When Yao was asked why he looked at Liu Wei again and again while in the match, he said so.

“This is the strangest question.” --- When he was asked what is the strangest question asked by people, he said so.

“There are a lot of journalists here. If one of them clicks the shutter, it will become a splendid advertisement.” --- Once Yao ripped the label off before he drank the water, and he explained so.

“Actually I am 180 cm tall.” --- When an old lady who had poor eyesight estimated that Yao was 170 cm tall, Yao said so with a titter.

“When you play a computer game and it is ‘GAME OVER,’ you can start again. However life gives us no chance to resume.” --- When asked his attitude towards life, Yao said so.

“Who are the rich? The ones who work in offices, drive cars and live in luxurious houses. I am not so. I am a blue-collar and live by my physical labor because I have to play basketball.” --- Many people said Yao has earned a good deal of money and has already become a wealthy man. Yao said so to refute this opinion.

“We should be a flock of wolves. I am the lead one but all the wolves would have to cooperate, attack and defend together.”--- To describe his teammates’ and his own behavior, Yao said so

“Judging from the physical factor, the position of our coach is the weakest one on our team.” --- When a journalist asked which position is the weakest one on his team, he answered so.

“My stature is here. I just make the best use of it. Just like you won’t use a computer of PentiumⅡ, when you have a computer of Pentium Ⅳ. I am almost 200 cm tall. It is silly and wasteful to make no use of this advantage.” --- When a journalist asked Yao whether his success was caused by his advantage of stature, he answered so.

“In NBA I need an interpreter, while in CBA I don’t.” --- To describe the difference between NBA and CBA, Yao said so.

“Become a journalist! Since I cannot evade you journalists, I would like to join you.”--- Once a journalist asked Yao what he would do after retiring from his career, he said so.

Yao Ming has always said that he was a taciturn person and sometimes felt shy to speak, especially in front of journalists. As his role shifted from a basketball player in the CBA to a famous star in the NBA, he has obviously grown up. His smart words in the interview easily show his maturity.

ENTERTAINMENT NOTES:

By ZhenHua Huang

Yao Ming Stars in a TV Ad

Recently Yao Ming made a TV ad in his hometown, Shanghai, promoting the overall image of the city. He was dressed as a police officer, a construction worker, a taxi driver, and in several other roles in the ad. Shanghai people take very special pride in claiming such an international super star as Yao Ming.

Apparently he takes great pride in being from Shanghai. During the time Yao Ming and his team, the Houston Rockets, were in China to play two pre-season games, Yao Ming showed his teammates around his famous hometown. He treated them to authentic Shanghai food, and took them to his elementary school and then to a newly launched basketball park called Yao's Place.


Taiwan King of Original Love Songs Releases New Album

On Friday, October 22nd, Taiwan pop singer Chris Yu, or You Hongming, debuted his new album, Love Songs in Autumn, after one year and eight months of silence. The album's theme track, "1000th Night and Day," was finished last autumn, and the song's music video was shot to model the Hollywood film, Meet Joe Black.


Les Choristes was screened in Beijing

As the opening film of the "France Culture Year in China," a French film named Les Choristes was screened in Beijing. Chinese audiences were touched by its humanistic theme and beautiful melodies. It did well in France and was chosen by the French government as the movie to compete for next year's Best Foreign Film Oscar.


MTV Style Awards Kicks off in Beijing

The MTV Style Awards, China 2004, jointly sponsored by the entertainment giant MTV, China Central Television’s Channel 6, and the Shanghai Media Group, will open November 21st in Shanghai.


Life Translated First Run in Beijing

The hot new film, Life Translated, has opened in Beijing. The movie tells the story of a Chinese girl studying in England. The famous Hong Kong star, Edison Chan, plays the leading male role in the film directed by the famous horror filmmaker popularly known as Agan. The film premiered in Shanghai on Oct. 20, Wednesday, and will open nationwide on Oct. 27.

ENTERTAINMENT, CLASSICAL MUSIC REVIEW: Bocelli concert in China

By Louise liu

On oct.15, 2004, the world-renowned Italian singer Andrea Bocelli gave a vocal concert in People's Hall in Beijing, China. In spite of mechanical failures at the beginning of the performance and the restlessness it raised in the audience, Bocelli demonstrated the word "perfect" perfectly to the audience. His ability to hit the high C effortlessly and sustaining it, his four octave range, and unique flavor are the three main features of his singing. Skill and technique are certainly inherent in his music but not magnified as prideful boasting. They only serve as a natural component to help deliver the message in his singing voice.

Bocelli became the world's golden child not only because of his unique voice but also because of the power deeply embedded in his music. Born with an eye-disease, Bocelli lost his sight completely at the age of 12. So his visual impression of the world lingers there, leaving a beautiful and pure memory in his mind. Maybe that explains the sincerity and purity in his singing. After sinking into darkness, his longing for brightness, his love for life, family, nature and music reverberated in his singing.

This was not the first time that Bocelli performed in China; on Dec.3, 2003, he sang in Shanghai in celebration of the city's winning bid to host the 2010 World's Fair. There he expressed his appreciation by sharing happiness with the people of Shanghai. At the end of the concert, in both Italian and English, he told the thousands of Shanghaiese in the audience: "I know there will be a great World’s Fair in Shanghai in 2010, I’m very glad to share the happiness in this big event."

The famous Canadian singer Celine Dion once said: "If God has a singing voice, it must be like Andrea Bocelli." On the recent night of October 15 in Beijing, it certainly sounded as if his voice was heaven-sent. After he was led to the center of the stage, he stood with a gentle smile on his face and sang with the voice of an angel.

WOW SURVEY: U.S. Presidential Election and Iraq War

In a small-scale survey carried out by WOW staff, 690 students from over 30 major universities across China, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, Wuhan University, Southwest University of Science and Technology, and Xiamen University, were questioned about the upcoming American presidential election and the war in Iraq:

Over 81 percent were concerned about the presidential election. About 52 percent of students predicted that Kerry would win the election compared to 40 percent who thought President Bush would be reelected, with the exception of 8 percent of students who found it hard to decide.

When asked about their opinion of the Iraq war, an overwhelming 85 percent of the students considered the war to be unjust. Only 7 percent considered it to be justified while another 8 percent remained neutral. The survey also indicated that about half of the students were most concerned about the refugees of the war, and 23 percent focused on the war itself.

GLOBAL VIEW: Observations on Iraq War

By Lianne Li

According to our WOW survey, only 7 percent of the 690 students involved had been able to say that the Iraq war was justified compared to an overwhelming 85 percent that said the war was not justified. The results were totally predictable, given the massive anti-war attitude among most of the students.

“Were there enough reasons for the US to invade a sovereign state like Iraq?” an anonymous student posted on one of the politics studies forums. “If there were, then the UN had the right to take military actions against Iraq for breaking international laws as it did when Iraq invaded Kuwait. But America launched the war, violating international law and the sovereignty of Iraq.”

At the cost of 1,246 coalition deaths--observed before October 22, 2004--and over 150 billion US dollars spent on the war, not to mention the great loss for the Iraqi people, the Iraq war seemed to end up nowhere, despite the fact that the goal of the Bush administration before war to overthrow the Saddam regime and reconstruct Iraq’s political system had apparently been reached. Whether the Iraqi people would appreciate the effort of the US to build another government for them by force against the pleas for a peaceful settlement by the international community remains a large question.

But the aim to destroy terrorism by war seemed wrong to most in the first place. “Saddam Hussein so dominated the Iraqi regime that its strategic intent was his alone. He wanted to end sanctions while preserving the capability to reconstitute his weapons of mass destruction (WMD) when sanctions were lifted.” As observed in the report by Iraq Survey Group head Charles Duelfer, who found no WMD in Iraq after the war.

Was the US government misled by their intelligence organization? Why haven’t any convincing clues of Saddam administration secretly developing WMD been found? Why did the Bush administration still resort to war even with several warnings from CIA director Tenet that something was wrong with the intelligence?

It seemed that the war was also launched on the basis of a suspicion of Saddam’s possible connection to terrorism, but again no clue of this was found. The war did not destroy terrorist forces as it was supposed to. Instead it provided terrorists with the nationalist hatred they needed, invigorating them to a wide range of attacks, such as the March 11 explosion in Spain, and the March 17 car bombing of a hotel in Baghdad, and the recent kidnapping of Chinese engineers in Pakistan.

As UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said during a recent interview on ITV television’s Dimbleby program, the Iraq war has done little to increase security across the world or halt the activities of international terrorists.

Besides the doubtful purpose and result of the war, other negative aspects of it were by no means negligible. The abuse of Iraqi detainees brought not only humiliation to the Iraqi people, but also notoriety to US troops around the world. Without UN permission in the first place, the marching of coalition troops led by the US into Iraq had been called a foreign invasion, and the effect of the abuse only highlighted that image. Despite the sentence of imprisonment of some of the soldiers in the Abu Ghraib Prison case, the negative image could not easily be wiped out.

Given these negative points of the Iraq war, it was therefore easy to see why it appeared to be unjust to most students. But after all, as some implied, all wars are evil.

GLOBAL VIEW: An Analysis of the American Presidential Election

By Ellen Ji

The final round of the United States presidential election has begun. The two candidates, President George W. Bush and his competitor Senator John Kerry, have expressed their positions on many important issues through hundreds of speeches, but especially in the three rounds of debate, which may be decisive to the final result.

Up to now their approval ratings are almost in a statistical tie, with Kerry a few points behind. They displayed a stark contrast in their views on virtually every major issue, so the result will depend on which issues Americans are concerned with the most.

Americans who base their vote on considerations of security and Iraq issues favor President Bush. According to a public-opinion poll done in America, undecided voters--which make up about 6%-9% of the electorate--may be dissatisfied with the US economic situation, but think highly of Bush’s policy of dealing with terrorism and the Iraq issue. They hope to elect a president with the ability to maintain the country’s security and tackle the Iraq issue properly.

On this point, Mr. Bush may be more trustful. The Bush administration always sticks to its anti-terrorism policy firmly. President Bush will order the army to garrison in Iraq, training the Iraqi army and police and press on with the Iraqi election next year. John Kerry who, on the contrary, has not provided any effective way to solve the problem has criticized the policy. Mr. Kerry suggested the American army evacuate from Iraq in the next four years, which is believed unlikely to happen.

On the other hand, Mr. Kerry will gain more support by economy-concerned Americans. He has linked jobs and health care as the centerpiece of his economic package. He has promised to cut the federal budget deficit in half--after Bush took office, a $5.6 trillion surplus was turned into deficits--and to create 10 million jobs in four years, aggressive targets. This plan is very tempting in some states, especially Ohio, where nearly 240,000 job opportunities have been lost since President Bush has been in power.

Kerry is also proposing tax credits to help small and mid-sized businesses pay for employee health care, and would pay for his proposals by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans earning more than $200,000 a year, reversing Bush-era reductions. It seems that some lapses of Bush’s economic policy have had a bad effect on Bush’s approval rate, which could give Kerry a chance to defeat Bush.

The two candidates are campaigning hard to capture enough support from the undecided voters to break their virtual tie in these last few days. The world anxiously awaits November 2nd and the final decision of the American people.

AN INTERNATIONAL VIEW: The American Presidential Election and the Iraq War

By Julia Zhu

The American presidential campaign has moved into the last critical moments. We can easily see that having suffered 9.11, Afghanistan and the Iraqi war, Americans are becoming more and more concerned and sensitive about their homeland security defenses. The Iraqi issue, which is just lying before their eyes, is no doubt also an important concern of American voters.

Personally speaking, I see the Iraqi war as another way of saying “cruelty” and “ridicule.” I can’t help asking myself: why did they force this war? What was their purpose? For bureaucratic reasons, the U.S.-led invasion hinged on one issue: weapons of mass destruction. This was of course a perfect excuse since most parts of the world, especially the United States, were under the shadow of terrorism and therefore everyone should agree with their plan to get rid of this great danger. But now, when looking back, we can easily find how weak this reasoning was. So far, what we have seen is not evidence for it but only scenes full of blood and tears.

According to the Iraq Survey Group’s Final Report by Charles Duelfer, Iraq had not resumed production of dangerous weapons after the first Gulf War and that Saddam Hussein himself, together with other former Iraqi officials, have admitted there were no WMD in Iraq. What then was the reason for this war? A game involving human life or something? Just to reach the conclusion mentioned above now, some 1,196 coalition personnel have been killed since the start of the war. Of those, 1,060 are American, 67 British and 69 are from other coalition countries.

Unknown numbers of Iraqis have also died on both sides of the conflict. What a cost! Yet to this, George W. Bush simply explained that they were avoiding a risk which people could not afford to take. My question is: can we send soldiers off to die just because we suspect another nation is guilty of planning imminent aggression? As far as I am concerned, the U.S.-led invasion was just such a situation and therefore a tremendous mistake.

Back to the present American presidential campaign, since the Iraqi issue is now the core of it, how it plays its role is of great concern. In my opinion, it is more of a two-edged knife to both sides than a simple advantage to either Bush or Kerry.

Bush, of course, is being blamed for the current awkward situation in Iraq and is being severely questioned about his real intention for taking military action against Iraq. Many voters, however, are willing to vote for him due just to this issue. Considering his previous course of action, they draw the conclusion that he is more predictable than his opponent Kerry, though they are also worried about where Bush will lead their country next, in both war and economics.

As for Kerry, he could make good use of the mess in Iraq caused by the invasion and the awful situation the United States is sinking into to attack Bush. On the other hand, he has not really challenged the president with a better solution to this issue. His shaky stand towards it leads many people to doubt the wisdom of making a change for change sake alone.

In a word, if one side fails to cope with the problem of Iraq properly and successfully, the other side can seize the opportunity and win the edge. Neither side can be slack at it.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS, OPINION: My Observation on Iraq War

by Angie Zhang

Sometimes it’s quite difficult to define a war as just or unjust. Putting it another way, we might be blinded by the abundant flow of news coverage concerning the war by various media without knowing what is true and what is false. Many reports claimed that it was a must to go into Iraq to eliminate the threat of WMD, for they insisted Saddam possessed such weapons and was obviously a potential menace to the rest of the world, particularly the United States. Even if Saddam was innocent at that moment, it was argued that there was no way to assure the world that he would not develop WMD at some point since many experts were quite positive that he held a strong ambition of being a military power.

Most found the war inhuman because it caused great casualty. Up to a point, I am on their side. This war has already claimed thousands of precious lives, not only soldiers but women, children, old people, hostages, officials working for the UN, and so on. Life is to be respected and treasured, not to be spoiled and wasted. We learned that the U.S. sent its troops to Iraq without permission from the UN and the support of the international community. Numerous protests against the war and eager cries for peace didn’t change Bush’s determination to punish the evil by his own will. Unexpected but inevitable, a war in name of liberating the Iraqi people from tyranny of the brutal dictator started.

Nevertheless, what Americans did in Iraq carried the message that they didn’t do things on behalf of the Iraqis but pushed the poverty-stricken country into a more deadly abyss. For Iraqis, peaceful lives were ruined by people who promised a better future for them, but instead their kin were killed by so-called righteous bombs and legal guns. Bush declared he would always put freedom, liberty and human rights above all. Did he mean it? Before the war, Bush had ensured the public there would be few casualties. It was a lie. When children appeared with blood-covered faces on the television, I felt a sudden pang of grief and remorse. The war was driving poor souls out into the unfeeling world to suffer and die and we couldn’t help them.

Having put Saddam in jail, Bush then established a brand-new government whose responsibility was making Iraq function in an orderly fashion. With terrorist attacks against mainly American-led forces happening throughout the country, the coalition failed to gain control of the daily-worsening political situation. Constant fighting, blood and corpses, ate into Iraqi hopes. How was it possible to make Iraqis believe the unfriendly intruders were working for them? In this sense, it’s really hard for me to concede that what the Americans have done in Iraq was just.

SPORTS, China: How They Watched It

By Freda Wang

The day when the Rockets and the Kings began their China Games in Shanghai, I was at the school dining hall having dinner with a friend. Students here can’t watch TV in their dorms, so the TV set supplied in there became especially precious to basketball fans. It was 10 P.M., but the dining hall was not empty. A bunch of boys gathered around a table and watched eagerly with their heads rising. When the players on TV played with all their efforts, the boys shouted with all their efforts. They were holding each other tightly, screaming and applauding.

The climax appeared when Webber nailed a three-point shot from almost the other end of the court. The crowd gave out a loud exclamation of admiration. Joy could be seen clearly on their faces. I understood the feeling, and I couldn’t help myself from laughing and applauding with them in such an atmosphere. The feeling those youngsters shared bound them together, no matter whether they knew each other or not. Two boys yelled out “Great!” simultaneously and burst into laughter just after looking at each other in surprise for several seconds. Another two fellows threw themselves into each other’s arms and murmured words continuously that nobody could understand. Although sometimes these behaviors looked childish, no one could deny that they were lovely.

That was what we saw that night in one of the thousand-plus universities in China. Looking at those young people, one was met with a sudden inspiration why so many people find basketball attractive. It can, like most sports, make both the players and audience feel pure and whole. At that very moment, people around the world were together thinking, looking and caring about the same thing, in spite of their nationalities, religious beliefs or anything else. This attraction flew across the ocean and took root in young hearts in many countries.

FOCUS ON ENTERTAINMENT: What Is Wrong With China’s Entertainment Business?

By Vivian Guo

For quite some time now I haven’t found any movies or pieces of music made in China decent enough for me to appreciate without disappointment. What I hear, read and see everyday in China’s entertainment industry is endless commercial promotions that feel empty and meaningless.

Quite often I wait months and even years for a movie or a music album to be released from the first time I get some amazing information about it from the press only to find out that it is just some commercial trash again. For example, movies made in Hong Kong, which used to be our pride are more and more commercialized nowadays. All the stories are so similar and meaningless that it seems the stars are the only product that the movie producers are selling to the audience. What made things worse?

Ever since “Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger” hit the Academy Awards, Chinese movie directors, the famous ones in particular, have put all their hearts into pursuing movie awards of various kinds, which is just another way of promotion. This attitude makes the movies so difficult to understand that they have not gotten anywhere close to real art but a lot farther away from the audience.

Let us take “Hero,” directed by Yi Mou Zhang, for instance. Zhang claimed that “Hero” was going to compete for the year’s Best Foreign Film Oscar from the first day of shooting. Then there was all the promotion about the movie upon its premiere. The movie turned out to be a huge commercial success; but it was an even huger disappointment to the audience. However, Director Zhang showed his indifference towards all the critical feedback and proclaimed himself satisfied with the money he had made on the film. “Hero” was a typical money-oriented as well as award-oriented movie full of stars and beautiful scenes. It was also a distortion of Chinese history and a ridiculous story, by the way. It ended up winning a huge commercial profit, a lot of critical feedback that almost destroyed Zhang’s reputation, and, ironically, no awards.

I believe that what makes entertainment entertaining is good art instead of thunderous propaganda or abstruse ideas. However, China’s entertainment business seems to have put the cart before the horse, which will only do harm to its growth. I sincerely hope that one day China’s entertainment can be as good as it is promoted.

CLASSIC MOVIE REVIEW: 12 Angry Men (1957)

By Li Xiang

Directed by Sidney Lumet
Story & Screenplay by Reginald Rose
Complete credited cast:
Martin Balsam .... Juror #1 (aka, the foreman) John Fiedler .... Juror #2
Lee J. Cobb .... Juror #3
E.G. Marshall .... Juror #4
Jack Klugman .... Juror #5
Ed Binns .... Juror #6
Jack Warden .... Juror #7
Henry Fonda .... Juror #8
Joseph Sweeney .... Juror #9
Ed Begley .... Juror #10
George Voskovec .... Juror #11
Robert Webber .... Juror #12
Genre: Drama / Crime
IMDB Rating: 8.7/10 (25,336 votes) Top 250: #21

Life Is In Their Hands -- Death Is On Their Minds

Twelve jurors gather in one little room, discussing whether a boy is guilty for his father’s death or not. That's what this 96-minute movie shows us. No visual effects, no action, no love scenes, even no background music. What makes this movie sparkling for almost 50 years? Performance.

At the beginning of the movie, there is a constant shot for almost 10 minutes. No cutting, no montage. This plainest of camera skills calls for the most difficult of acting skills. The 12 actors give their best performance of the whole movie. Ten minutes, no mistake. Every one of them moves towards a certain direction, stops and talks to a certain person. Every move is smooth and natural, without a single trace of acting. In the rest of the movie, the actors also give fantastic performances. Henry Fonda, the leading actor, appears in the movie as juror No.8. No.8 is a strong minded character. Fonda uses a low but clear tone and firm impression in his eyes to display No.8's calmness and unshakable faith in humanity.

Besides Fonda, there are supporting actors who leave deep impressions on viewers. Joseph Sweeney is one of them. As juror No.9, an old gentleman, Sweeney speaks in a slow but logical way to show his wisdom. No.9 is the first person who steps out to give No.8 a hand. He also provides the strongest reasonable doubt to refute the eye-witness's testimony. This man is a very significant figure. His wonderful performance owes to his wisdom. Wisdom is one of the most difficult things to show in a motion picture, it cannot be done by any specific act or words. However, Sweeney made it by looking straight into the camera. His eyes are shining with wisdom. No one can teach an actor how to do this, only talent can explain it.

Other actors, such as Lee J. Cobb (No.3), E.G. Marshall (No.4) and Jack Warden (No.7) also make their characters vivid and believable. Their personality, experiences and points of view are so very different. The fierce conflict among the 12 angry men leaves the spectator with great enjoyment and a profound reflection on humanity. And all this was displayed by the 12 excellent actors. If there is a "Best Actor Team Award" in any movie festival, this movie should surely win it without a doubt.

(All data and photograph are from IMDB)

MUSIC REVIEW, China: My Little Airport "Roaming Zoo Really Matters"

By Vera Chen

My Little Airport may be the greatest surprise in the field of indie music in Hong Kong this autumn. The band, consisting of a female vocalist, Nicole, and a male songwriter, P, has caught our ears with their pure and casual sound. Their debut album, "Roaming Zoo Really Matters," was released under their own label, Harbor Records, in August. Though it has not yet been introduced into the mainland market, the band's music has been widely spread among indie fans with the help of the Internet.

Nicole and P are seniors in Shuren University in Hong Kong, majoring in journalism. "Roaming Zoo Really Matters" is their first album, but they've had numerous concert experiences. They established Harbor Records in 2004, with 4 other indie bands in Hong Kong.

Technically speaking, My Little Airport is a typical guitar pop band, which is quite popular among the youth nowadays. The album consists of ten songs, simply composed with only guitar and electric-violin. Nicole, the female vocalist, has a lazy and casual voice which always makes her singing like murmuring. Their songs are written in the name of memories. They talk about the friends they met, and stories of the past. Listeners love it when these elements are put together and produce a feeling of relaxation and refreshment.

But these elements alone are not enough to make them stand apart from other groups, when so many bands and singers are busy competing with each other. Their wittiness in the music is the shining point. When you first hear their music, you can tell that there is something different, something that can move you. It's not about the lyrics they wrote, though the lyric are also quite moving. They have successfully transferred a taste of easy life into music and have expressed it well: life as a mixture of tiny joys, tiny sorrows, and tiny confusions. A life that goes on for everyone, forever.