Word: dragons
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...taste of Eternal China, take a look at the Jinghai Temple today. Despite generations of official atheism and the wholesale destruction of temples and feudal beliefs, two dozen elderly women in floppy blouses and polyester pants cheerfully descend on the holy site, praying to Tianfei and the East Sea Dragon God. They shake their clasped hands in passionate devotion, bow their heads low before the celestial statues and burn copious quantities of incense. They pray that the sea won't turn on them, that their fishermen husbands won't be drowned, that their houses won't be wrecked by typhoons...
...office success of Chinese kung-fu movies has in turn revived kalarippayat. Indian filmmakers, hoping to mimic the high-kicking fights and gravity-defying leaps in Jet Li's Romeo Must Die and Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, are hiring kalarippayat fighters and teachers like Kumar as stuntmen. They're even making sure Bollywood stars have basic training. "Even five years ago, Kerala martial arts had nearly died out," says Kumar, who with his two brothers runs C.V.N. Kalari Sangham in Calicut, among the best known schools in the country. "Now suddenly it is popular again...
...Kokujo (girls who like black men) paint their skin cocoa, weave their hair in cornrows, dress like Destiny's Child?all the better to attract the prime catch, the black military man. The phenomenon has already become a pop-culture staple, propelling hip-hop acts like Dragon Ash to Japanese platinum success and launching the career of best-selling novelist Amy Yamada, whose memoirish Bedroom Eyes detailed a Japanese woman's sexual exploits with black servicemen...
...invite-'em pair of cops--the serious one (Jackie Chan) from Hong Kong, the shrill one (Chris Tucker) from L.A.--do battle against malefactors of nearly every race. It's good to see Zhang Ziyi, the high-flying ingenue from Crouching Tiger, in a dragon-lady role, and fetching Roselyn Sanchez as a woman of uncertain loyalties. But until a vigorous climax, the action scenes have little punch. The film seems content to rely on the formula that could (small sigh) extend for a few more sequels: Jackie kicks butt; Chris kicks sass...
...Fitz, who is fresh from going to see the dragon, sits in the back of Dillon's restaurant, rolling a joint. There's a full-moon party in 10 days down in Ko Pha-Ngan, Thailand, three days by bus, train and boat from here. He swears he's going to be there. He needs a fresh visa for Laos anyway. What about the opium? Can he go that long without seeing the dragon...