Song of the Week

Thoos Hawj - Looj Ceeb Zos Ywj Pheej

Hmo no cua tuaj nplawm ntws no ntxiag

The wind blows chillingly tonight

Ntsia hnub qub tawm tuaj dawb vog

(I look at) the appearing white stars

Rov nco nco tus neeg tag los

(It makes me) nostalgic of the past someone

Uas tau sib hlub hauv nroog Looj Ceeb

(That I've) loved in the city of Long Cheng

Tus neeg kuv hlub

My love

Xav los txog sib ncaim lawm ntev

When thinking about it, (we’ve) been separated for a long time already

Cherry Blossoms Are Falling

This story was originally published here in 2012, now updated with new artwork in 2026

 

Synopsis

Madison Moua, an American-born Hmong woman, is ruthless, strong-willed, and fiercely opinionated. She does things her way—and only her way. Though she can be kind and respectful to those who treat her with the same courtesy, she has little tolerance for deceitful people.

More than anything, Madison despises the way some older Hmong men, including her own paternal uncle, have disrupted their nuclear families by traveling to Laos to marry high-school-aged Hmong girls. She is equally furious with the girls who knowingly lead these men on for the purpose of extracting money from them. But what Madison finds most unacceptable is that young Hmong men in Laos are now becoming involved in the same practice.

To Madison, it is hypocritical, destructive, and completely unforgivable.

So what happens when she suddenly discovers that she is expected to marry Looj Xyooj, a Hmong man from Laos?

Will Madison be forced to confront the very beliefs she has condemned in others? Will she set aside her principles and accept the marriage—or will she fight against it with every ounce of her strength?

Xab Thoj — The Master of Hmong Comedy, Culture, and Heartfelt Harmony

When exploring the vibrant landscape of Hmong media, very few creators manage to achieve elite status across three completely different disciplines. Today, we spotlight the multi-talented Xab Thoj—a well-accomplished Hmong comedian, actor, and singer who has carved out a genuinely unique space in the entertainment industry.

While many know him for making audiences laugh until they cry, his musical evolution tells the story of an artist deeply committed to original storytelling and cultural preservation.

[Hmong New Film] Hmong Blood For Freedom Trailer

I was on the Hmong section at asianfuse the other day and saw someone post up Suab Hmoob Radio's interview with Wisconsin-based Hmong filmmaker/director Pov Hwm Vaj about his new 2012 film project, Hmong Blood For Freedom.  I watched the interview clip, although not thoroughly because there was a lot of talking only and no previewing of the film.  My reaction was that it was great to see this Hmong guy making another film and he's collaborating with folks from the Thai entertainment business as well.  I just hope that the film isn't draggy like Vaj Tuam Thawj (I don't care too much about overloaded fight scenes) nor weak in plot like Hlub Tshaj Txoj Sia. 

From the same interview, we are also informed that the film will focus on a conflict between the ethnic Thai and the original Hmong of Thailand.  My thought was that it was not a very exciting nor appealing topic.  In my limited comprehension of the history of the original Hmong of Thailand, they seemed to have a rather more stable political atmosphere compard to the Hmong Lao and one of their prime issues often conveyed through the media was their growing of opium during the Vietnam War era.  To me, I feel like the subject of a drug war is redundantly portrayed in Thai films/lakorns.     

Then, my sister e-mailed me a link to the trailer (below) and after watching it, I am more enthusiastic about the movie now (although Vaj Tuam Thawj's trailer looked promising too when I first saw it, but after purchasing the film, I couldn't bare to sit down and watch through the 3 hours or so of gruelsome fight scenes).  But so far, Hmong Blood For Freedom seems to be on a higher-quality level (even the English subtitles are more grammatically correct) so let's hope for the best in terms of its ability to carry itself as a poignant film that can convey it's message well. 

Based on the trailer and what I saw/heard of the HBC interview of the lead actress, I pieced a rough synopsis of the film together (below).  [Sorry if it's not accurate]  The film is being shown today, May 2, 2012, at Saint Paul's International Film Festival so maybe whoever is lucky enough to watch it can shine some light on the actual storyline.

(I will do a better review of the film once I see it...which probably won't be until later this year when the DVD format is released.  But everyone, give your support to this film in spite of its outcome so that more quality Hmong films may continue to roll in our direction.)

Song of the Week

Since I don't have time to update my writings all the time, I figure that the best way to keep this blog active is to add songs, my fanfic art i.e. wallpapers, and potentially Hmong film reviews (in the hope of helping the filmmaker for promotional purposes only) in the future. 

Enjoy ^_^  Perhaps you can listen to the song while you're reading the stories to keep you in the mood...

Xanaki - Nco Koj Mus Ib Sim

Thov muab lo lus zoo hauv kuv lub siab
[I] want to give [you] the good word from my heart
Tag nrho lub siab
[From] all of my heart
Muab qhia rau koj
To tell you
Yog vim kuv hlub koj tag sim neej no
[That or] Because I love you with all my life

Let Our Paces Be A Concerto

I know...I'm getting old but lately I've been showing some interests in SM Town's newest boyband, EXO.  The only reason why I got hooked was because one day while on the homepage of YouTube, I happened to see the music video of EXO-K being displayed and decided to click on it.  Then I noticed that the video title was "What is Love?" (Korean Version).  I thought, "Oh, is there an English version too?"  No, it turned out that there was a Chinese version.  However, since I'm more interested in Korean produced Chinese music, I decided to listen to the Chinese version.  At first, the song didn't seem too interesting but after listening to it a couple of times, I found the song to be pretty catchy and the boys "very pretty" as well.  So that did it...and EXO's got my attention for a while now.  Although all of them are equally likable and talented, I just thought that EXO-M's Chen is just too adorable especially given the fact that he is so shy and quiet on the Chinese talk shows that EXO-M's been on.  So, to honor Chen, I've decided to write a short fan-fiction of him.  I usually don't like to write stories that don't include something about being Hmong--explaining why I also don't normally write fan-fictions (it's not that I'm biased but because I feel like I can only do justice to Hmong stories since I don't have a good grasp about other cultures except for their stereotypes only) but I've made an exception for Chen. 

The story is still in progress but I've decided to upload what I have thus far...and will continue to update/perhaps modify the story a bit as I continue writing it...

(Interesting Note: I just realized that Chen's voice alone = Baekhyun + D.O. + Suho's voices.  That's probably why he, rather than one of the other three Exo-K members who could voice belt, was chosen to be in Exo-M instead.  Pretty cool...which means that he has a heck of a good voice.)

Let Our Paces Be a Concerto

Characters:

Kim Jong Dae: Slave Boy/Chen

Yoo Hana: Young Lady/Yoo Hana

Lee Joon Hyuk: Crowned Prince 

            He was neither too tall nor too short in stature, and in fact, he was perfect in height.  His shoulders were broad and stout, his facial structure was strong and finely cut out with high cheek-bones and handsome features.  His milky skin tone and fudge-colored hair shimmered under the glittering sunlight that blinded his eyes.  He raised his right palm into the sky to block the golden beam of light that gently beat down upon and warmed his cold hand.  In spite of the cheerful, everlasting sunshine and beautiful colored and flower fragranced countryside, it was raining in his world on this March spring morning.  That dream returned, and this time, it was more vivid than prior’s past—and so his heart ached and longed for more.  It rained, and so it made his tears tumbled tenderly onto the dirt ground, missing and reminiscing of her.

            The western horizon had stopped glowing in different shades of red as the sun fell behind the mountains and darkness devoured the landscape into a picturesque silhouette.  The temperature dropped below freezing point, and the snow returned—whispering a lullaby to calm the day to sleep and fluttering gently onto the earthen ground to cover it in a layer of thick white blanket.  A beautiful and elegantly-decorated palanquin stopped in front of a manor, and a pair of phoenix-embroidered shoes stepped onto the snow—pressing the shaved ice onto the ground to brand prints of her shoes.  The young lady pulled her emerald-colored silk outer-coat over her head so that she was covered up except for her fair face.  A maid servant rushed the girl toward the manor’s main gate, and charged a lad in torn, dirtied ivory and light-brown clothes to bring the young lady’s possessions inside.  The lad nodded and gaily rushed over to grab at least five to six paper boxes from the palanquin.  He then followed behind—stepping on top of the young lady’s every single footprint as he had done so since they were children.

Synopses of Stories I'm Working On

Nkauj Nog

This story is roughly-based on the original Hmong folktale, Nkauj Nog, but it does have many changes.

“It’s only the petals of the white jade plum blossoms fluttering like a thousand fireflies.  Why do you carry a red hemp umbrella during this March’s spring?” ~Nkauj Nog

“To shield us from the gentle breeze that if brushed past our faces, may forever change our fates.” ~Siv Meej

“It’s only the pearl rain that waters the Earth like diamonds from the heavens.  Why do you carry a red hemp umbrella during this November’s eve?” ~Siv Meej

“To shield us from the tender storm that if wet our hands, may forever alter our chances.” ~Nkauj Nog

“It is inside the red hemp umbrella that I shall find my destined mate.” ~Siv Meej

“It is inside the red hemp umbrella that I shall wait.” ~Nkauj Nog

  

During the golden ages of imperial rule in San Miao Kingdom, a wealthy salt businessman married two wives who each gave birth to a daughter.  The elder wife is as beautiful as she is kind, so her daughter, Nkauj Zuag, mirrors her mother in nature and beauty.  The younger wife is beautiful too, but not equal to the elder wife so she is always bitterly jealous and cold and cruel, and nurtures her daughter, Nrhee, to be the same way.  Determined to rid of the elder wife, the younger wife comes up with every possible trick to try to make her husband divorce his elder wife.  One day, the younger wife feigns sickness and her foolish husband is made to believe that only the sacrifice of a cow to his ancestors will cure her.  However, he and his elder wife are a few minutes late to the local market and all the cows were sold out.  Furious, the husband blames his elder wife for their ill-luck and chases her away.  Disappointed and sad, the elder wife runs away and soon discovers herself inside an enchanted forest.  Then from out of the blue, magical flowers begin to blossom twirling tall and slender white bamboo trees.  While she sits beside a pond with the moon’s reflection dancing in the water, the elder wife thought of her husband and wishes that if it was possible she is willing to trade her life for a cow’s.  Unbeknownst to the elder wife, her wish is granted by the magical flowers and she changes into a cow.  She leaves her daughter Nkauj Zuag to cry for her mother for many days, and leaves her prone to abuse from the younger wife.  Without a mother now, the town’s people pity the poor girl and everyone begins to call her Nkauj Nog (orphan girl).  No one seems to remember that she was once named Nkauj Zuag (hair-comb, the eponym of feminine beauty) by her mother.

Husband For Sale Trailer

Here's the trailer to my still in progress story, Husband for Sale.  Enjoy :)

Below is a synopsis of Husband For Sale.

Hli Xiab Xyooj’s father was an aspiring fashion designer, but a homicide incident left him and his wife dead and their 7 year-old child at an orphanage, where she was adopted into an upper-middle class family and her name changed to Heidi Xyooj.  She soon showed the same prodigious talent for fashion designing as her biological father, and realizing this, her adopted parents decided to help their daughter pursue her creativity.  By age 30, Heidi Xyooj has become one of the most successful designer and owner of fashion enterprise Lycia Desrosiers.  Warm and caring, she is nonetheless independent and career-driven, and shows no interest in love despite being constantly pursued by the prince charming of a major clothing retail conglomerate, Tsim Suab Lauj.  Heidi’s gregarious grandmother, however, disagrees with her granddaughter’s approach to life.  She believes that there are many definitions of success in life, and one includes receiving the love of a husband and children.  Thus, Heidi’s grandmother pressures her to find a fiancée within three months’ time or she would be forced into an arranged marriage.  Fearful and weak against her grandmother, Heidi has no choice but to comply.

Through an ad that drops out of a magazine that had her top supermodel and cousin on the cover, Heidi finds a match-making company called “Husband for Sale” who gives its female clients the option to choose and buy their ideal husband.  Heidi thinks of a brilliant idea to buy herself a husband to fool her grandmother for a while and then get a divorce later to gain her freedom.  But little does she realize that she is trapping herself in a game that is not easily stoppable.  Her perfect-matched husband ends up being a young lawyer named Yeej Huam Yaj, whose personality is as capricious as the tidal waves.  Heart-broken and unable to get over being dumped by his ex-girlfriend, Huab Nag Tsab—an aspiring supermodel whose life parallels Yeej Huam’s and whom Yeej Huam had hoped to share his happiness and sadness with, the attorney’s love for the girl turned into hatred and he wants revenge.  His objective is to find a girl to pretend to be his fiancée so that he may crush his ex-girlfriend just as much as she had done to him. 

Beyond the Fence

The razor-wire fence curled around Phanat Nikhom Refugee Processing Camp in long, rusting loops, enclosing a world that somehow managed to be both crowded with life and cut off from it. During the day, the camp buzzed with the sounds of a small town: vendors calling out from makeshift stalls, children chasing one another through dusty paths, freshly made ice cream melting almost as quickly as it was scooped, and Cantonese love songs spilling from old cassette players with voices softened by worn-out tape. In classrooms, young and old practiced English and learned bits of American culture, preparing themselves for a country most of us knew only through stories, photographs, and the occasional television screen.

At night, the camp took on another rhythm. Children gathered around storytellers whose voices rose and fell beneath the darkness, carrying folktales from one generation to the next. Young men lingered near the paths, laughing shyly as they courted girls with flushed cheeks. Older men sat together drinking beer, their laughter occasionally bursting above the hum of the camp as they took turns standing guard against the possibility of a reprisal from the enemy we had left behind. Beyond the huts, the night stretched toward the Thai countryside, but we remained inside our circle of wire.

The Fairy Queen

This story was originally published on this blog in 2011. In 2026, I returned to the story and completely reimagined it, expanding the characters, rewriting the narrative, adding new scenes and artwork, and creating a new ending.

Rather than replace the original story with the revised version, I have moved the story to a new post so that this page can preserve its place in the history of the blog.

✨ Read the new 2026 edition by clicking on the thumbnail on the left ✨

Once upon a time, Altair and Vega merged in the Milky Way and flared into a dazzling, twinkling plumeria. When its petals slowly opened, an enchanted fairy emerged.

She was beautiful and possessed the combined power of two star systems. Whenever she flew, her wings left a glittering rainbow trail behind her. But her extraordinary abilities made her proud, wild, and reckless. She wreaked havoc every day in both the fairyland and heaven, disturbing and angering the Heavenly Emperor.

To punish and tame her, the Heavenly Emperor stripped the gifted fairy of her magic and banished her to Earth. She was ordered to live as a mortal and perform one hundred good deeds to atone for her sins before she could return to the fairyland.