The One With The Asian Heroes 

Somebody sent me a note, asked me to vote for TIMEasia.com Asian Heroes Poll.. 20 finalists have been chosen for the 2nd Annual online voting.. Burmese Nobel Prize, Aung San Suu Kyi is currently top the list with Malaysian Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Tibetian Dalai Lama are trailing behind.. The winner will be announced via a special website later today..

** update : Poll results for Asia's Heroes 2004 available here

In 2003 poll, majority 37% of online voters nominated Korea's 2002 World Cup Football team as their heroes.. Malaysian former PM Tun Dr Mahathir only managed to get 2.7% votes, 6th out of 20 nominees, even behind the Philipines' iron lady Corazon Aquino..

However, what interest me the most was, the Magazine Special Edition issue of April 28, 2003 / Vol. 161 No. 16 cover.. haha.. Asian Comedy God Genius.. none other than Stephen Chow Sing Chi..

Excerpts :

If Hong Kong has a Charlie Chaplin, he's it. The 40-year-old Chow started off as the lint in society's navel but has pulled himself up through wit, will and a keen appreciation for the cinematic uses of insanity. After growing up impoverished in working-class Kowloon, he tried to break into acting at age 19 by auditioning for a training course run by a local TV station. Knowing his height might be a problem—he's dubiously listed at 1.73 meters—he bought an expensive pair of elevator shoes. The judges never gave him a second glance. "At that time the concept of a star has got to be somebody tall like Chow Yun-fat," he says. "Someone like me on the TV or the screen is impossible."

Read on..

For some, they might know Stephen Chow only from Shaolin Soccer (2001) which managed to break into western market via its English version distributed by Miramax Films in 2004.. As for me, with the exposed from Singapore TV channel SBC8 (now TCS8), I know Chow (and his mighty side-kick Ng Man Tat) for years.. I also collected many of his movies.. my favourites would be Legend of the Dragon, GoG3 : Back to Shanghai, Fight Back to School Triology, Royal Tramp Duology, King of Beggars, Magnificent Scoundrels, Flirting Scholar, The Lucky Guy, Hail the Judge... ( ahhh.. the list goes on and on.. ).. A friend of mine, (also a Johorean) is even a worse Chow's freak.. He went to cinema to watch Shaolin Soccer more than 5 times.. and hundreds times more watching VCD, nights and days ..

For Chow's fans, good news coz he is back!!.. His latest movie, Kungfu Hustle which set during the chaos of pre-revolutionary China, will come to cinema on 23 December (source : CinemaOnline).. For those who haven't know who Stephen Chow is, this is your best chance to know him.. So guys. get ready to hustle!!