Film nominees unveiled
BEVERLY HILLS - "American Beauty," a dark satire about a suburban middle-class family, captured eight Oscar nominations on Tuesday, including for best picture, topping the list of 1999 films selected for Hollywood's most prestigious awards.
Seeing dark side of American in films
BERLIN - Chinese director Zhang Yimou's romantic film "The Road Home" drew loud applause at the Berlin film festival on Tuesday, gaining recognition after being rejected last year for competition in the Cannes festival.
Listing
Nominees for the 20th annual "Rrazzie Awards," the flip sidde of the Oscars:
Seeing dark side of American in films
BERLIN - Tom Cruise's new film that showed here on Monday was the latest in a series of dark self-portraits of America shown at the Berlin film festival.
Marriages of inconvenience
ABOUT 42 per cent of married couples in China are either "unsure" whether they would choose the same partner, or categorically would not pick the same person, if they had the chance to do it all again.
Foot, fist and morality: Taekwondo
WITH a striking yell, a slender figure in white brings her right foot squarely down on the target. "That's typical Taekwondo," said Ju Yunjie, a sophomore of Shanghai Jiaotong University. "I practise it every week," she said, with a contented smile.
Fat wieners, but thin on flair
CHINA has iridescent, figure-hugging qipaos and Japan its kimono. The Brits, well our traditional costume - sequined outfits of the East End's pearly kings and queens for example - may be anything but sexy, but at least we can lay claim to the miniskirt, thanks to pioneer fashion designer of the '60s, Mary Quant.
Create your own label at wine making club
By Shi Xisheng
A HOME-made bottle of plonk may not beat the most expensive wines now available on Shanghai's supermarket shelves in terms of quality, but it could still become your most satisfying tipple. That's the message of Lujiazui Fine-food Town's two-storey Jenny Brewing Club, where patrons are invited to manufacture their very own wine label. The Jenny's Brewing Club bears a very distinguished North American style with classic oil paintings and rows of bottles of wine on display. "We attract family groups and groups of friends who come here to make their own wine, and have fun in the process," said Wang Zhongde, president of the club. The process begins with a change into a clean uniform and sterilization under ultraviolet rays. The wine maker then pours grape juice into a plastic bucket and adds various ingredients including wine yeast, bentonite and oak powder. The brew is then left to ferment for five to seven days. The club says the wine only truly becomes your own once you have added the wine yeast. After three to four weeks, the juice becomes quality wine. "One must come to the club very often to take care of the wine. But if you are too busy to do that, club professionals will help you," said Huo Weixin, director of the club. The club, which currently has about 2,200 members, tailors services to an individual's needs. Newly-married couples, for example, are welcome to paste their own wine labels complete with their photos and signatures onto the bottles with a view to supplying the boose for their big day. "Some of our members have chosen to serve the wine to guests at their weddings," said Wang. A person with permanent membership can make 30 bottles of wine after paying fees of 2,200 yuan ($265). A further 30 bottles (the minimum amount) then costs 1,500 yuan ($180.7) each time. "For many Shanghainese, this is not a large sum of money. What's important is the opportunity to sidestep the pressures of urban life, and do something creative and satisfying with their spare time," Wang said. Time: 1:00pm-9:00pm Place: Rm 4, 377 Yincheng Road W. Tel: 6887-6030
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