A: A mint Labubu doll was sold for a record 1.08 million Chinese yuan — or about US$150,300 — at an auction.
B: That much for a doll? That’s insane.
A: The character of toy company Pop Mart has sparked a global frenzy thanks to celebrity endorsements, like pop diva Rihanna and Blackpink member Lisa.
Photo: Reuters 照片:路透
B: Where can we admire all the Pop Mart dolls?
A: The world’s third Pop Mart flagship store is located in Taipei’s Ximending area. Let’s go together.
A: 一個薄荷色的「拉布布」玩偶在拍賣會上,拍出108萬人民幣天價、高達15萬美元!
B: 一個玩偶?這也太瘋狂啦。
A: 這個泡泡瑪特玩具公司旗下的角色正在全球掀起狂熱,而這都要感謝天后蕾哈娜、Blackpink的Lisa等名人的加持。
B: 哪裡可以看到泡泡瑪特推出的公仔啊?
A: 全球第三家泡泡瑪特旗艦店就在台北西門町,我們去逛逛吧。
(By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張迪)
A: K-pop supergroup Bigbang’s frontman G-Dragon is set to hold three concerts at the Taipei Arena starting tonight. B: His new hit “Too Bad” has gone viral lately. During my visit to Haidilao hotpot not long ago, the chef even grooved to this song while performing a noodle dance. A: Actually, Bigbang member Dae-sung just staged a show in Taiwan last month as well. B: Plus, another member, Tae-yang, also held a concert here last December. A: I wonder when the three members will rock Taiwan as a group again. A: Bigbang隊長、韓流天王G-Dragon權志龍今晚起將在台北小巨蛋嗨唱3場。 B: G-Dragon的新歌《Too Bad》爆紅!連我去海底撈用餐時,廚師表演拉麵秀都在跳這首歌。 A: Bigbang成員大聲6月才剛來台開唱。 B: 該團成員太陽去年12月也曾來台開唱。 A:
Virtual YouTubers, or VTubers, have become a dominant force in online entertainment. Using avatars as their virtual representatives and motion capture technology to bring these figures to life with their own __1__, they have carved out their own space in the digital world. Alongside VTubers, “virtual idols” have also risen in popularity in recent years, particularly in South Korea. One successful virtual K-pop idol group is PLAVE. A combination of “Play” and the French word “Reve” (dream), their name reflects their __2__ to create a world where dreams come to life. Initially, PLAVE operated in a style similar to
A preliminary finding into last month’s Air India plane crash has suggested the aircraft’s fuel control switches were turned off, starving the engines of fuel and causing a loss of engine thrust shortly after takeoff. The report, issued by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on Saturday last week, also found that one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) asking the other why he cut off the fuel in the flight’s final moment. The other pilot replied he had not done so. The Air India flight — a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — crashed on June 12 and killed
Continued from yesterday(延續自昨日) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang Besides PLAVE, other types of “virtual idols” have also emerged. AI-driven groups like SUPERKIND __5__ human and virtual idols, while MAVE: consists entirely of AI-generated members. These groups’ different approaches to virtual entertainment __6__ the scope of what virtual idols can achieve. Virtual idols are capturing the hearts of fans for various reasons. Some fans find them __7__ due to their perfect appearance and the absence of real-world scandals. Virtual idols can maintain an idealized image, free from the __8__ that arise among human idols. Others are drawn to their creative stage productions. For instance, virtual idols