What are they teaching over there?

What in the world are they teaching in Japan!?


Youtube Link

SEVEN YEARS!! Yao Ming and Ichiro learned English in about 3 months!

What are Japanese English teachers teaching? Are they just giving the students a textbook and then surfing tenticle porn?

North Korea tears up agreements

Source: BBC

Communist North Korea has said it is scrapping all military and political agreements signed with the South, accusing Seoul of hostile intent.

South Korea's government had pushed relations "to the brink of a war", the North's cross-border relations body said on state media.

Seoul expressed regret at the move, while the US called it "unhelpful".

Relations have deteriorated since South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak took a harder line approach to the North.

Sooner or later North Korea is going to start a war it cannot win.

Asian Ripoff XXX - Disney!

Disney movies and songs can be found in nearly any language.
Here are some examples.

Pocahontas (Mandarin)

Youtube Link

Beauty and the Beast (Japanese)

Youtube Link

Mulan (Cantonese)

Youtube Link


Yup, Jackie Chan can sing :)


Aladdin (Thai)

Youtube Link

Hercules (Korean)

Youtube Link

Lunar New Year's Beats

I'm mortified. HIP HOP!? ELECTRONICA!?


Youtube Link

What was that? That's a New Years Song? You listen to that on New Years you'd end up in jail later on in the year! It's sad when Asians overseas take a nice tradition like the Lunar New Year and fuck it up to their own style. Could you imagine a hip hop Silent Night?

We've all heard traditional music before. If you're a youngin' and that's not your style, here's what a modern pop Chinese New Year's song is supposed to sound like.

Artist: Nick Chung
Language: Mandarin


Youtube Link

Aaahh much better. That's a nice beat. New Years is serious business, can't be messing around with it! Now that I've gotten that poison out of my head, I can now enjoy the rest of the year!

Japan: Please don't lick the tuna

Source: AzCentral

TOKYO - Tourists are known for acting silly, but licking the tuna?

Overwhelmed by a growing number of misbehaving tourists, Tokyo fishmongers banned all visitors from one of the city's most popular tourist destinations - the pre-dawn tuna auctions at the world's largest seafood market.

The ban, imposed during the peak New Year buying season, was front-page news before it was lifted last week. Now, the tourists are back, but the debate goes on: Can tourists be trusted around the tuna?

"We understand that the sight of hundreds of frozen tuna looks unique and interesting for foreign tourists," said Yoshiaki Takagi, deputy director of the market. "But they have to understand the Tsukiji market is a professional place, not an amusement park."

One of the more notorious recent cases was that of a tipsy British tourist - caught on tape by a Japanese TV crew - who licked the head of a frozen tuna and patted its gill. Two others, also caught on video, rode around on a cart used by wholesalers. "Get out! Get out!" an irate market official shouted in English.

"Tuna is a very expensive fish," Takagi said. "One tuna can easily cost more than 1 million yen ($11,000). But some tourists touch them and even try to hug them."

EWWWW what in the world you anyone hug a tuna!!!!!?????

Slate's humorously outdated travel writing

Over at Slate.com, writer Jane Thomas frets, "am I too frivolous for Japan"? How anyone can be too "frivolous" for the land of used underwear vending machines, Hello Kitty, and the miraculous shithat (pictured above) is beyond me.

With an image of Japan nearly 70 years out of date, Thomas paints an enticing portrait of a land chock full of quiet, reserved aesthetes shuffling around from one exquisitely understated artistic masterpiece after another. And to be fair, while Japan does have its fair share of artisans and art treasures, it bears absolutely no relation to how 99.99% of the Japanese live their lives, nor are the Japanese (who pollute and litter on a level equal to or exceeding their counterparts in the industrialized world) any more or less in tune with art, nature than any other place on earth - an enduring cliche which western travel writers have yet to discard.

And what of Japan's deservedly more visible lowbrow and middlebrow cultural presence? For all of Japan's famous temples, woodcut paintings and statues, even a first time visitor to Japan quickly notes that the actual tastes of the people who live there run far, far closer to pornographic comic magazines, idoru singers, quasi-infantile cartoons for adults, TV samurai melodramas, and the world's shittiest game shows.

So, Jane, it's time to turn the question on its head: is Japan too frivolous for you to be visiting?

3D Sex and Zen

Source: LiveNews

Hong Kong film makers are preparing to leave filmgoers goggle-eyed by releasing the world's first pornographic movie in 3D, a news report said on Sunday.

Shooting on the Chinese-language film 3D Sex And Zen, budgeted at 4 million US dollars, is scheduled for April with producers promising some of the most realistic close-up sex scenes ever.

"Just imagine that you'll be watching it as if you were sitting beside the bed," Stephen Shiu Jnr told the Sunday Morning Post.

"There will be many close-ups. It will look as if the actresses are only a few centimetres from the audience."

Centimetres is a bit too close I think!

The producers hope the movie will cash in on the craze for 3D films in Hong Kong where 55 per cent of takings for last year's hit film Journey to the Centre of the Earth came from the 3D version.

Eh? So all those people that liked this 3D version of a kid's movie will buy porn!? I don't think they should get their hopes up!

Chinese New Year Recipes - Party Like It’s 4707!

Source: Steamy Kitchen

Found this wonderful blog today and I've just been drooling at all the food on New Years.

Don’t put away your party shoes just yet! I know you think that the new year celebrations are over, but for many Asians all over the world, the biggest holiday is yet to come! January 26th is the beginning of Chinese New Year, a 15-day long celebration and the start of year 4707 according to the Chinese calendar.

Each year of the Chinese calendar is symbolized by one of twelve zodiac animals, and this year, it’s the Year of the Ox. According to the wise, old sage who created the system thousands of years ago, the ox symbolizes a hardworking, honest animal. What does that mean to us? Hopefully, 2009 will be a year of strength, stability and hard work. Which quite frankly, after the tumulus and erratic Year of the Rat, this is just what we need.

Please visit Steamy Kitchen. You'll be drooling too!

Sichuan earthquake relief money spent on luxury cars

Source: Telegraph

Officials in Sichuan province have outraged donors by buying a series of luxury cars while millions of refugees face freezing temperatures in makeshift shelters.

Almost every Chinese person donated money in the wake of the Sichuan earthquake last May in a display of charity that unified the country. The disaster claimed the lives of more than 87,000 people and was the deadliest earthquake to strike China for half-a-century.

However, there is growing evidence that a large slice of their pledges has been siphoned off or misused by local officials.

According to China's National Audit Office, there have been close to 2,000 complaints of corrupt behaviour. Some local officials exaggerated the death tolls in their counties in order to grab a larger share of relief aid. In Chongzhou City, the tourism bureau and transport department filed their paperwork twice in order to win 1.23 billion yuan (£123m) of additional aid.

The latest outrage came when a full inventory of the luxury cars purchased by Beichuan County was leaked onto the internet. Beichuan was totally destroyed and 3,000 of its residents have been consigned to temporary shelter for the next three years while a new site is chosen for their town.

According to the inventory, a number of top-of-the-range Toyota Land Cruisers and Nissan X-Trails were purchased, one of which cost over 1.1 million yuan (£110,000).

Can't say I'm surprised. What will it take for people to realize that communism is a fraud. Communism was grown through fear and lies. Through nationalism and poverty lines. People who are poor leaned towards communism in order to be more even with the rich. Little do they realize that the richer got poor and the poor became even worse. All the money goes to government officials. Always has always will. China is probably the richest country in the world yet the majority of its people still live in a hole in the ground. Fourty billion dollars for the worst Olympics in history. Where's that money now? And now one of the worst disaster in Chinese history? Where's that money now? It's fucking sad.

What are they getting at, here?

Youtube Link

Nope, this is just too subtle for me.

Why Do Japanese Hate Root Beer?

Source: Mike's Blender

Have you ever wondered why you can almost never find root beer in Japan? Except for a few specialty shops, it's pretty much non-existent over here. What gives?
If you ask a random Japanese person, the chances are good that they've never even heard of it and/or are convinced it's some kind of alcoholic drink. If they have heard of it, or tried it, then it's a good bet that they don't like it. Root beer equals that medicine-like softdrink that, to them, tastes the way a medical cool compress smells. Philistines....
I decided to find out if rootbeer's bad rep here really is deserved by taking my root beer quiz to the streets. Well not exactly the streets, more like my classrooms. Find out first hand what Japanese people really think!

Yu Sang (Chinese New Year Salad) recipe

It's Chinese New Year. A time to EAT!



Source: Noodles and Rice

This dish is normally prepared for Chinese New Year in Southeast Asia. It uses raw fish and raw vegetables which are not commonly eaten by people in China, but Singaporean Chinese do. And did you also know that when it is brought to the table, it is the custom for everyone to pick up their chopsticks and help toss it together.

Ingredients:

125 g very fresh tuna, striped bass, or red snapper fillets, wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in the freezer for 1 hour
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
big pinch of ground white pepper

Dressing:

1/2 cup Chinese plum sauce
1 tbsp sugar, or to taste
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup hot water
2 tbsps fresh lime juice

Salad:
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 cups finely julienned daikon, squeezed of excess water
2 cups finely julienned carrot
3 green (spring) onions, white part only, finely shredded into 2-inch lengths
6 kaffir lime leaves, spines removed and leaves shredded into hairlike threads
1/2 cup fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
4 Chinese sweet pickled shallots, thinly sliced
2 tbsps well-drained, finely shredded pickled tea melons
1/4 cup well-drained, finely shredded sweet pickled ginger
2 tbsps finely slivered fresh young ginger
1 tbsp well-drained, finely shredded pickled red ginger
1/4 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, lightly crushed

Directions:

1. Remove the partially frozen fish from the freezer and cut across the grain into paper thin slices. Cover and refrigerate. Then, just before serving, combine the fish, lemon juice, sesame oil, and white pepper in a bowl and toss well.
2. To make the dressing, in a bowl, combine the plum sauce, sugar, salt and hot water. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then stir in the lime juice. Set aside.
3. To assemble the salad, preheat a dry frying pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the sesame seeds and stir frequently until the seeds are light golden brown and begin to pop, 2-3 minutes. Pour onto a small plate and let cool.
4. In a large bowl, toss together the daikon, carrot, green onions, lime leaves, and half of the coriander leaves. Make a bed of the mixture on a platter. In a bowl, stir together the pickled shallots, tea melons, and the three gingers. Scatter the mixture over the daikon-carrot mixture. Mound the seasoned fish slices in the middle. Top with the peanuts and sesame seeds and then with the remaining coriander leaves. Pour the dressing evenly over the top.
5. Place the salad in the middle of the table. Have everyone reach in with their chopsticks to help toss the salad!

Movie Reviews - January 23, 2009

Source: LoveHKFilm

Three reviews this week including the epic 2-part series Red Cliff by John Woo

Resident Evil: Degeneration (Japan)

The wildly-successful Resident Evil franchise gets a CG film spinoff with Resident Evil: Degeneration, a mildly enjoyable, if otherwise inessential supplement to the overall series mythology. For diehard fans only.

Youtube Link

If You Are The One (China)

Smart and entertaining, if not exciting or romantic. If You Are The One ends oddly and is a bit too long, but it's better than most films of its genre. Feng Xiaogang continues his string of hits - which is fine, because his movies are usually good.

Youtube Link

Red Cliff and Red Cliff II (HK)

Worth the six month wait. Red Cliff II improves upon nearly everything in Red Cliff, offering better action, acting, emotions and entertainment. Easily the best movie John Woo has made in ten years. While that may sound like a backhanded compliment, the straight skinny is this: Red Cliff II is pretty damn good.

Youtube Link

Malaysian woman hid drugs in bra

Source: The Straits Times

MELBOURNE - AUSTRALIA has charged a Malaysian woman with attempting to smuggle heroin into Melbourne by hiding the drug in her bra.

Customs Department officials say they suspected the woman may have been carrying drugs when she arrived on Thursday at Melbourne International Airport on a flight from Bangkok.

A female officer conducted a frisk search and found 'inconsistencies' around her bra, which turned out to be a package of white powder, customs officials said in a statement on Friday.

The statement said the package contained approximately 14 ounces (400 grams) of heroin.

The 20-year-old woman will appear in court in April. She faces a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment and/or fine of A$550,000 (S$538,000). -- AP

Nothing worse than inconsistent boobs.

New Tv Show: Azn Lifestyles Tv

Azn Lifestyles TV is an independently produced, weekly 30-minute program about Asian pop culture. It features interviews with notable personalities, popular topics like food and car shows, and sketch comedy segments.

For those of you in Vancouver, you can catch the show on Sundays at 11:30pm on Channel 13, CityTV. For the rest of us, there are clips on the website.


Youtube Link


Youtube Link

Asian Ripoff XXIX - Maria

Artist: Kim Ah-joong
Language: Korean


Youtube Link

The title song in the movie is a cover of the Blondie song "Maria." The Korean modern rock band Loveholic also appears on the 200 Pounds Beauty soundtrack.

200 Pounds Beauty is a 2006 South Korean comedy. The story tells the tale about a large girl that undergoes an extreme makeover to become a pop singer.

Unheralded Taiwanese player Lu upsets Nalbandian

Source: AP

Yen-hsun Lu had barely walked off the court at Melbourne Park on Wednesday after one of his biggest career wins when his mobile phone started ringing.

"I picked up the phone and my friends were calling to congratulate me," Lu said. "I could tell they were all happy for me."

His friends back in Taiwan had good reason to be excited.

Lu, whose previous biggest win was a first-round upset of Britain's Andy Murray at last year's Beijing Olympics, pulled off a marathon upset of 10th-seeded David Nalbandian in the second round at the Australian Open.

Lu beat the 2002 Wimbledon finalist 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in a match just short of four hours, marking the first time in 12 Grand Slams that the 25-year-old Lu has advanced past the second round.

The first upset in the first major of the year goes to Taiwanese star Yen-hsun Lu. I caught the 4th and 5th sets late last night (I couldn't get much sleep). Usually when an underdog wins the 1st set but drops the next 2 sets against a seeded player, he goes away pretty quickly. But Lu fought off many break points and held on to a famous 5 set victory. Next up is Spanish veteran and 24th seed Tommy Robredo.


---

EDIT: Lu got destroyed by Robredo 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.

Girlfriend for Hire!

Source: China Daily

SHANGHAI: Liu Facai is desperate to hire a "girlfriend" during the Spring Festival holiday.

The 31-year-old sales manager works in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, and has posted a notice on a bulletin board of cnool.net, the largest Web portal in the province.

The offer: 6,000 yuan ($878) for five days.

The reason: to present her before his parents in his hometown of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, to stop them from pestering him to find a girlfriend and get married.

"My parents have been pushing me for a long time to find a girlfriend and asked me to bring her home for Spring Festival," Liu says.

He has left his personal information and blog address on the website. "It's always better to be honest," he says. "My price is competitive," though.

Nearly 400 applicants have responded within three days, he says. "Many girls have contacted me and want to meet me."

Not sure what bothers me more, an ad that rents a girlfriend for the five days the man is visiting his parents, or that nearly 400 girls are willing to receive money for this!

550,000 Chinese laid off

Source: The Straits Times

BEIJING - MORE than half a million Chinese people were thrown out of work in the last three months of 2008 as the impact of the global financial crisis deepened, the government said on Tuesday.
As of Dec 31, 8.86 million urban residents were registered as jobless, up 560,000 from the end of the third quarter, ministry of human resources spokesman Yin Chengji told a press conference.

'It shows the impact of the international financial crisis on China's employment situation,' he said.

What a staggering number. It not just people in North America (myself included) that are losing jobs in this economic crisis. It's happening all over the world. China, said to be the next superpower, is reeling as well.

Obama's Inauguration

It's a big day! I'm able to watch live streaming of this at work woohoo!
Most of you know what I'm conservative/republican. I have many doubts about Obama and don't agree with this policies.

However, I am touched by what I'm seeing today with the big crowds and the entire event. The media slurping is a bit extreme but it's been like that since Obama started this campaign.

I've never ever seen an inauguration before so this will be very cool for me.

Burma fishermen in amazing escape

Source: BBC

Two Burmese fishermen have survived for almost a month in shark-infested waters by floating on a large ice box after their fishing boat sank.

The men, in their 20s, were spotted by an Australian coastal patrol aircraft at the weekend and winched to safety by a helicopter.

The fishing boat sank in heavy seas off the north coast of Australia 25 days ago, with the loss of 18 lives.

The survivors had no safety equipment and no means of communication.

How can a human being survive 25 days!? I would die in 2 seconds!

Now You Can Get Crappy Ballpark Food In Japan

Source: SbB

Planning to travel to Japan and worried there won’t be any low-grade hot dogs, stale nachos, and warm beer for you to eat? Don’t worry about it. Major League Baseball is opening an official restaurant in Tokyo that will feature “cuisine” found on the menus at ballparks throughout the league

MMMMmmmmm BBQ Squid!!

Movie Reviews - January 18, 2009

Source: LoveHKFilm

There are quite a few to start the new year.

Lady Cop and Papa Crook (HK)

Long-delayed comedy starring Sammi Cheng and Eason Chan is an odd and somewhat unfathomable mixed bag. A confusing plot, poor characters, and ill-fitting performances combine to make this one of the bigger recent disappointments out of Hong Kong. Clearly, this was a different - and probably better - film before the Mainland censors cut it to shreds.

Youtube Link



Tactical Unit - Comrades in Arms (HK)

An entertaining if minor genre entry, Comrades in Arms proves be much better than its fellow PTU spinoff, the shot-on-video The Code. For a low budget Hong Kong movie, Comrades in Arms impresses, and director Law Wing-Cheong does his producer Johnnie To proud. A solid Milkyway Image film.

Youtube Link

Ong Bak 2 (Thailand)

Story-wise, Ong Bak 2 is as routine as you can imagine, but the action more than compensates. As an action star, Tony Jaa is currently without peer, and Ong Bak 2 serves up enough surprise, impact and style to satiate any fan of martial arts cinema. The ending is a little disappointing, though.

Youtube Link

Love Story (Singapore)

This Singaporean contribution to Andy Lau’s Focus First Cuts Film series is undeniably stylish and visually impressive. Too bad it’s a complete turkey.

Youtube Link

Bonus:

Fist of Fury (HK)

It's a Bruce Lee movie - 'nuff said.

Youtube Link

Traditional elephants a no-go at parade

Source: UPI

NEW DELHI, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- For the first time in 30 years, elephants will not be part of the annual military parade in New Delhi, an Indian official says.

An Indian Defense Ministry spokesman identified only as D. Mohanty said this year's ban on elephants was prompted by security concerns raised during last year's event in the Indian capital, the BBC reported Friday.

During last year's parade, two elephants nearly stampeded while approaching the president's platform, Mohanty said.

But the Defense Ministry official said the decision to remove the pachyderms from the parade also is a response to animal rights concerns.

"Besides, for four years now animal activists have demanded a ban on the use of elephants," Mohanty said. "These two reasons forced the government to decide against their use from this year."

The BBC said children who typically ride the elephants in recognition of acts of bravery will instead enjoy jeep rides during the parade.

JEEPS? That's just sad. So a couple people get stomped on, that's all part of the festivities. Further pussification of society.

Controversial art exhibit on Vietnam ends early

Source: LA Daily News
Source: LA Times

A sign outside an art exhibit warned visitors about the "highly sensitive political material" inside.

One photograph showed a woman sitting next to a golden bust of communist leader Ho Chi Minh and wearing a red tank top bearing the yellow star of the Vietnamese flag.

Other images depicted the painful flight of refugees from Vietnam nearly four decades ago and their ongoing struggles in the U.S.

The Vietnamese American Arts &; Letters Association hoped its exhibit would spark dialogue about the wide range of viewpoints in the Southern California community founded by refugees from communism.

But the show drew a barrage of criticism and prompted demands for curators to remove the provocative pieces.

Co-curator Tram Le said the exhibit closed two days early Friday because of community anger and news from city code inspectors that organizers were not allowed to hold an art exhibit in the ground floor of the office building they had leased.

"We just realized how hurt the community was, and we wanted to be sensitive," she said.

Nice to see you JUST realized that honey. You wanted to bring communist symbols to Orange County and "challenge" the people into opening their minds and ideas. You got the response didn't you :)

A protest had been planned for today. It was unclear whether the early closing would stop the demonstration.

It did not. Pictures here (Vietnamese).

Santa Ana police officers arrested a man this morning after he unfurled a flag of communist Vietnam among a crowd of hundreds of anti-communist demonstrators protesting a provocative art exhibit. The exhibit was shut down Friday after organizers grew concerned about the threat of large-scale demonstrations and Santa Ana officials said it didn't the proper permits.

Woohoo! A guy with a red flag disturbing the demonstration got arrested and not the demonstrators who beat him up. That's justice to me :)

Asian Ripoff XXVIII - Material Girl

I think Madonna songs have been done to death in all languages!

Older Version
Artist: Sally Yip
Language: Cantonese


Youtube Link


Newer Version
Artist: 7 Flowers
Language: Mandarin


Youtube Link

Women Who Love Women: A rare documentary about lesbians in Singapore

Source: IZ Reloaded

Watch this documentary by Lim Mayling called Women Who Love Women: Conversations in Singapore. It uses interview footage with three Singaporean lesbians, Amanda Lee, Sabrina Renee Chong and Gea Swee Jean to get a rare glimpse into lesbian lives in Singapore. Women Who Love Women was shown recently at the Asian Hot Shots Berlin Film Festival. You can read its blog here.

Very well done documentary. Alot of differing opinions. Overall there is more tolerance. I think you need to know a gay/lesbian person as a friend to really accept the lifestyle. Or else it's difficult to understand.

Funniest Condom AD (maybe NSFW)

Just watch in awe... I have no words to describe this.....


Youtube Link

There's even outtakes!

University opens porn course

Source: Ananova

A university in Taiwan has opened a course to teach students how to appreciate and analyse porn movies.

The Mass Communication Department of Providence University opened the course this semester, reports United Daily News.

To pass the course, students must give a 15 minute presentation in which they analyse an audience's psychological reaction to a porn clip from an academic perspective.

One worried student, who did not wish to be named, commented: "If I get a very good score in this course, I don't know how I'll explain it to my parents."

This would be the conversation in my house:

Mom: "Tracy, What are you taking this term"

Me: "Math, Econ, Accounting and a couple options"

Report card comes back.

ACCT 321 A
ECON 201 B+
MATH 251 B+
POLI 201 C+
PORN 201 A+

Mom: Wow, what's this course PORN, you got an A+

Me: Uhhh.....yup study of Popular Oppressive Race Names :)

I'm player hating on Devon Aoki

While I will grudgingly acknowledge that Devon Aoki (seen above molesting a Burmese python) is conventionally attractive (she is free of string warts, doesn't have clubbed feet, etc.), she also always has that vaguely disinterested look that makes her look more like a sex robot than a human being.

So yeah, I'm drinking the Haterade. To hell with her.

OK, I feel better now that I've got that off my chest. Back to serious posts about Chinese lingerie shows and bad ABBA covers!

Facebook used to nab thief

Source: The Straits Times

WELLINGTON - NEW Zealand police have arrested a safe burglar by using the popular social networking website Facebook to identify and track him down.

Calling it the 'first Facebook arrest', Queenstown police in southern New Zealand posted security-camera footage and pictures showing the man's face as he tried to break into the safe of a local tavern on Monday.

'The offender was identified after a movie and images of him were displayed on Facebook. He was identified from members of the public viewing him on Facebook and also seeing him on TV after the Facebook images were displayed on the news,' the police station said in a statement on its Facebook page.

Police said the unnamed, 21-year-old Queenstown native would appear in court on Wednesday

That's pretty cool and scary at the same time. It's great that facebook can help solve crime but that means if you're on facebook everything about you is known. I've heard that employers are now commonly using facebook to get a 'look' at their job applicants. So get those drunken pictures down! :)

China shuts down 84 more porn websites

I was reading China Daily today and saw two stories back to back and just shook my head. China is very good at talking out of both sides of their mouth.



China shuts down 84 more porn websites

BEIJING - China shut down another 84 websites on Wednesday for containing "pornographic and lewd content", bringing the total number of blocked sites in the month-long campaign against such sites to 175.

The Special Operation Office for the Crackdown on Online Porn and Lewd Content said in a statement that government departments would step up efforts to continue to close illegal websites and "severe penalties" would be meted out to those who violated the law.

OK. That's fine, it's great they're cracking down.

But then...



2008 China Lingerie Model Contest

A model presents a creation for the finals of 2008 China Lingerie Model Contest in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, December 28, 2008.

Excuse me? A REGIONAL Lingerie Contest? How many regions are in China? 888888? This is 2009! They don't even have lingerie model contests in the US and any lingerie show on tv is chastized! Is the annual Victoria Secret Lingerie show still on tv?

So they want to ban all porn, even if it's legal but parade girls in bikinis in every region. Incredible.

Asian Ripoff XXVII - Brown Eyes

Artist: S.H.E.
Language: Mandarin


Youtube Link

Not too bad. A bit softer than the original.

CNNIC: China had 298 million netizens by Dec 2008

Source: China Daily

China's Internet population swelled to nearly 300 million by the end of last year, with the penetration surpassing the global average for the first time, according to a quasi-government organization.

The number of Internet users in the country reached 298 million by the end of 2008, representing a 41.9 percent growth compared to the previous year, said a report by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).

More than 90 percent of the Internet users surf the Web via broadband access, CNNIC said. The penetration stood at 22.6 percent by Dec 31, compared to a global average of 21.9 percent.

That represented a major leap forward for China since the country overtook the United States as the world’s largest Internet population in June, 2008, CNNIC said.

So how do we combat this?



Source: MSN

Nanometre wave machines, military formation drills, gruelling exercise regimes and electric shocks are being used to cure China's ballooning number of internet addicts. Some 300 treatment centres across the country hope to tackle the growing social problem of web addiction that has accompanied rapid modernisation. "[Internet addicts] can't adjust to school and society, so they try to escape their difficulties and avoid problems," psychologist Tao Ran, who runs a treatment centre on a military base outside of Beijing, said. "They lack self-confidence and often don't have the courage to continue their lives," he is quoted by ABC News as saying.

What the hell is a nanometer wave machine. Is this proven to work? Wouldn't you rather be playing war craft than sitting under a hairdryer!?

Debate over Communist symbols in Orange County art exhibit

Follow up to Art group portrays Vietnamese symbols on canvas

Source: LA Times

A provocative art exhibit that opened on the outskirts of Little Saigon this weekend got a strong reaction from some Vietnamese Americans who were offended by the pieces of art that featured Communist symbols.

The exhibit, commissioned by the Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Assn., displayed works that included Communist symbols, the flag of the fallen country of South Vietnam and artwork that has been banned in Vietnam.

The curators wanted to start a discussion in the Vietnamese community, where talk of politics other than staunch anti-communism is taboo and any hint of associating with Communists, whether perceived or real, can erupt in street protests.

Yup. People don't want to see it. It may seem paranoid and often silly but that's how they feel. If you let tolerate one thing, they'll keep advancing.

There were some heated calls to take the photo down. In the meantime, someone has spit on the artwork and made a scratch through the glass on top of the photo. But the photo did spark a discussion between the arts group and the members of the Vietnamese American community who saw the piece as hurtful. "We left our home country because of the regime of the Communists. This art brings back memories of the hurt and suffering of our people that still pains us today," Phuong Le of Canoga Park told exhibit organizers Sunday. "When you judge art, you have to view it in history and see that these images only open wounds that continue to hurt us."

The organizers have refused to remove the photo. "We considered what they had said, and we felt that this was still something that should be up for discussion," said Tram Le, one of the co-curators. Le said that some Vietnamese Americans who came to see the photo did not find it to be offensive.

Some Vietnamese community members have threatened protests if the photo is not removed. Vietnamese community leaders are meeting today to discuss what action to take next.

This will get ugly very very soon. Maybe they'll burn it all down.

2009 Tokyo Motor Show DOA?

Source: The Truth About Cars

Automotive News [sub] reports that the Tokyo Auto Show could be canceled this year. Debate is raging within the Japan Automobile Manufacturing Association (JAMA) which hosts the show, as foreign automakers stay away and even domestics brands call for a cancelation. But JAMA won’t reveal the confirmed no-shows, and insists that the things must go on in the business of show. “A couple companies are not in favor of organizing the show under these conditions, but that is not JAMA’s opinion,” says Toshihiro Iwatake, JAMA’s executive director and secretary general. “We think the motor show is a symbol of industrial prosperity,” he said. “We have to show that our industry is healthy.” And though Japan’s automakers are as healthy as can be expected, Japan’s cratering domestic market (set to fall under 5m units in 2009) makes America’s down year look like China’s down year. If the Tokyo show is canceled, it won’t be back until 2011. By which time, Japan could be well on its way to becoming a “kuruma banare,” or demotorized society.

You know things are bad when Japan is contemplating cancelling it's main car show!
And a demotorized society? That's a bit of a stretch! We'll always need cars.

China's newly frugal youths

Source: BBC

Amid the global economic downturn, young people in China are defying government initiatives to boost spending and coming up with novel ways to save money.

Back in July 2008, Wang Chao, a 28-year-old office worker from Shanghai, told the BBC he spent 2,000 yuan (then about $290; £150) in a single day on trainers, clothes and gadgets.

But when last month his company cut salaries by half, Wang said he was forced to cut back on luxuries and swap restaurant meals for homemade packed lunches.

"My monthly income has been cut by 50%. I have had to reduce my living costs, though I'm still able to eat well."

Reducing costs during a recession isn't news. There isn't much choice. The key to succeeding on life is to reduce costs when things are going well and not spend money on meals, trainers, clothes and gadgets.

When things are going well, one has to make the most of it and benefit from it. It's a cycle and everyone knows the bubble will burst. It does every decade. People who resisted luxuries over the last few years are now laughing. A couple of my good friends bought houses just before Christmas. The price was so low. On Boxing Day I went to mall and bought 8 items for $100. During the good times it would cost me nearly $300.

Nothing lasts forever so be smart at all times. Three years ago, a young couple moved next door to me. They were both 25, just married and both had high paying jobs. They bought this house which was nearly 600,000 with a thiry mortgage. If that wasn't enough, they took out a second mortgage and bought two Lexus! I asked them if they could afford all that, they said they'd enjoy life and just pay it off over 30-40 years.

"We're young, we have the rest of our lives ahead of us"

Then the bubble burst and they both lost their jobs. Now what? Let's just say they're not my neighbours anymore.

More Asian women having abortions

Last month I posted College Schoolgirl: 3 Years, 5 Abortions

That was an extreme case but the trend does seem to be going up.

Source: BBC

There has been a big jump in the number of Asian women having abortions in the UK, according to figures from the Department of Health.

They show there were 15,197 terminations in 2007, compared with 10,084 in 2003 for all age groups.

Experts say more Asian women are now in open relationships and are having sex whereas culturally in the past it was something they did after marriage.

Not sure I agree with the experts in this case. Sure girls are having sex more now than a generation ago but to say they're having more in 2007 compared to 2003 is
too small of a timeframe.

I see the following trends continuing that are troubling.

Lack of information from parents

Asian parents don't talk about sex. It's just not done. I was fortunate that my mom was quite open about the subject and an older brother who also taught me and warned me about the subject. But in alot of case, girls are entering their teenage years learning on the go. They hook up with a guy, he sweet-talks her and unprotected sex happens.

No contraceptives

There are no contraceptives in the house. Cause you're not supposed to be having sex until you're 30. An Asian girl can't go up to her mom and talk about this. She can't buy condoms or have a prescription for birth control pills. If she was caught with anything having to do with safe sex she's be punished. She'd literally be beaten.
So when a teenaged girl is having sex, it will always be unprotected unless the guy is really responsible and has condoms himself.

Backlash

So in our scenario, a girl has sex with a guy and is now pregnant. Who can she go to?
You think she can tell her parents? Nooooooooo. Her parents will not only not defend her but will pile on and chastise her. Can she turn to the boy's parents? Maybe.. but that's a tricky proposition as well cause they probably won't support her either.
So the only solution is abortion.

If she does tell her parents, a shotgun wedding maybe take place if the couple is older (in their 20s). But if it's teenagers we're talking about, then abortion is almost the only solution. Another solution might be to have the baby and the 'grandmother' will raise it, but that's quite rare.

Abortion to have a boy

Read this article from the Mercury News that bothered me. It's about how Asian parents are now using technology to have a boy. Boy are still king! I would not be surprised that alot of abortions occur simply because the fetus is a girl. Sad isn't it.

---

I would like to believe that it's improving this generation so my plea to all parents is to educate your daughters at a young age. Talk about sex openly and teach her about the dangers. Forget about this taboo bullshit and talk openly. Don't treat your daughters like their trash or as a prisoner. The more you trust her, the less likely she'll go behind your back.

Art group portrays Vietnamese symbols on canvas

Source: LA Times

An exhibit commissioned by a Vietnamese-American arts group will open in Santa Ana, a display that purposely includes communist symbols, the flag of the fallen country of South Vietnam and artwork that has been banned in Vietnam.

In the middle of the United States’ largest Vietnamese population, the curators hope to challenge sensibilities and provoke discussion in a community where the topic has long been taboo.

Oh boy. Challenging sensibilities of people who have so much hated for anything that symbolizes communist Vietnam.

“I felt the community was on this slippery slope, that we were not progressing toward having open dialogue and being more tolerant of different political viewpoints.”

Eeeep. Open dialogue? Tolerant of different political viewpoints? In America, you can't even get people to be tolerant of Republican-Democratic or Prop 8 let alone COMMUNISM!

Titled “F.O.B. II: Art Speaks,” the name is a play on the pejorative moniker “fresh off the boat,” a term given to immigrants who came to the United States by boat, including hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese refugees who escaped after the Vietnam War was ended.

*shudder*

One of the more provocative pieces is a photograph by Brian Doan of a girl in Vietnam wearing a red tank top with a yellow star. On a table is a small bust of former communist leader Ho Chi Minh and a cell phone.

“This piece uses the communist flag but isn’t celebratory of communism,” said Lan Duong, a co-curator, and assistant professor of media at UC Riverside. “The communist flag isn’t used just as a political symbol, but of what is going on in Vietnam and the kinds of modes of consumption that marks youth culture.”

How can academics be so stupid? A person wearing a red t-shirt with a yellow star in the middle with Ho Chi Minh on her cellphone isn't celebratory of communism? These professors would be mopping the floor in Communist Vietnam. They were fortunate to escape here, now they want to bring us to be tolerant? They have way too much time on their hands.



This is an issue that can't resolved. I don't have a hated for the people of Vietnam even though I am "Viet Kieu". If I was born in Vietnam instead of Canada after the war then I'd be supporting that flag as well. Vietnamese-Americans in Orange County, even though I'm on their side, always go overboard. They'll protest anything! If you don't support them, you're communist.

After being quiet for a few year things were pretty hectic for the Vietnamese-American community with the Foot Spa Flag and Madison Nguyen recall incident. And now they're going to open a new can of worms with this exhibit. Expect a backlash very soon.

Computer geeks learn to flirt

Source: Reuters

Even the most quirky of computer nerds can learn to flirt with finesse thanks to a new "flirting course" being offered to budding IT engineers at Potsdam University south of Berlin.

The 440 students enrolled in the master's degree course will learn how to write flirtatious text messages and emails, impress people at parties and cope with rejection.

I don't know what bothers me more, that there is such a class of that 440 students signed up for it! Flirting can't be that hard!

Hi!!!!!
Hey Kyootie!
*flutters eyelashes*
*blows softly into your ear*
*fondles your bottom*
:) :P :o

Or how bout some ASCII art?

Gaza prompts boycott in Malaysia

Source: BBC

The removal of Coca-Cola from thousands of restaurants in Malaysia in protest at US support for Israel will hurt the local economy, the company has said.

The drinks company was responding to boycotts of US-made goods called by Muslim groups in Malaysia.

Malaysia has called at the United Nations for action to stop the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

Former leader Mahathir Mohamad has also called for a global boycott of the US dollar and US products.

It added that the beverage company employs some 1,700 Malaysians, 60% of whom are Malay Muslims.

Who's running Malaysia? Boycotting products will hurt the LOCAL economy, not the American economy. America's HUGE!

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir had earlier called for a boycott of US currency and goods.

"If you stop accepting US currency, the US can't trade and can't make any money, it will become very poor and it will have to stop the production of more and more weapons in order to kill people," he said on Monday.

"We should not be buying all these weapons from the US, we can buy from the Russians if we must have aeroplanes and things like that," he added.

"People must act... they won't die if they don't drink Coca-Cola," he said.

"We urge everybody who loves peace and is against war to support our campaign. We must send a clear signal to Israel to stop the assaults in Gaza," he said.

This guy was a former Prime Minister? Unless Malaysia can come up with better products the boycott won't work. On the weapons, I'd like to see them deal with the Russians and see how smoothly that goes.

Asian Ripoff XXVI - Love Potion No. 9

Here's a old Mandarin version from 1967.

Artist: Nancy Sit


Youtube Link

And here's my favorite version. A jazzed up Vietnamese one from a few years ago :)

Artist: Nguyen Hung


Youtube Link

It rocks! Dance dance dance.

Hello Kitty Tram!

Where you would find this tram?

Italy of course! *boggle*

Source: Blog Hello Kitty and Sanrio Italy

Depuis le mois d'octobre 2008 et jusqu'au mois de mars 2009, les italiennes résidant à Milan ont la chance d'avoir un tram Hello Kitty / Camomilla (Camomilla étant le distributeur officiel de Hello Kitty en Italie) ! La ligne 15 est toute de rose vêtue ^_^ Toutes les photos sur le site Sanrio Italy

So if you get to Milan or Rome by the end of March you'll get to ride on this!!

Not Just a Place For Food, But For Bonding

Source: New York Times

I’VE been pushing the cart for 28 years now. It started in 1981, when grocery shopping was a family affair: father, mother, two older sisters and me.

A very cute story about how grocery shopping brings a family closer together. When you're a kid, you like going shopping with your mom so you can get the good stuff. Cereal, chocolate bars, gummy bears, pudding etc.. Plus getting to push the cart around is the grown-up thing to do. If you're 5 you feel alot more important when you get to push the cart.

Then when you're a teenager, you don't want anything to do with the supermarket. It's suddenly uncool to be seen anywhere with your parents, let alone in a market! I never fully understood that because as a teenager I was still asked to buy groceries. but I would tell my mom to stay home and I'd go alone *wink wink*.

But as we all get older and move away from home, we realize that the only opportunity to spend time with our parents is at the supermarket. And as the writer states, if you've lost a parent, you always think back to those days of buying potato chips :)

Japan's suicide hotline flooded

Source: The Straits Times

TOKYO - JAPAN'S hotline for people considering killing themselves is stretched to its limit, with the economic crisis feared to be worsening the country's suicide problem, its director said on Wednesday.

More than 30,000 people kill themselves every year in Japan, giving the country one of the world's highest suicide rates.

A national suicide hotline run by the Inochi no Denwa - Telephone Lifeline - association is struggling to meet demand, with 7,000 volunteers handling some 700,000 calls a year.

'We don't have enough volunteers,' Yukio Saito, the head of the federation, told AFP.

'I'm afraid that there will be a rise in suicides with the economic recession,' he said.

This has always saddened and troubled me. Why in Japan? Recessions, economic downturns happen all over the world. People are losing jobs in America, England, Canada, everywhere. In Canada, people cope with it and move on. If they lose an engineering job for example, they have to find something else, live on Employment Insurance for a while, do odd jobs like pumping gas or delivering pizzas etc... Suicide is not a consideration for the majority here.

Here's an article about new university graduates in China being encouraged to find 'lesser' jobs during the recession. (Source: Asia One)

BEIJING - DESPERATE Chinese graduates, facing grim job prospects amid slowing economic growth, are clamouring to find posts as nannies and domestic helpers for the rich in one southern province, state media reported on Wednesday.

Thousands of university students had applied for nanny work through an agency in China's export heartland of Guangdong, the Guangzhou Daily newspaper said.

'There have been five or six hundred people applying every month, with more than 90 per cent of them university students, including 28 Masters students,' the paper quoted a housekeeping recruitment agent as saying.

Only 300 out of 2,000 students had landed jobs over the past few months, however, as slowing growth had seen companies go bankrupt and foreign businessmen desert the province in droves, the agency said.

Chinese labour officials have repeatedly warned the country's 6.1 million graduates that they will face tough times finding work this year and told them not to be fussy.

So in China people are looking for ways to cope and survive. Everyone has to start at the bottom right? They say that a person living in Canada on average changes careers five times in their life. I've changed careers a couple of times myself. I've been laid off, fired, bounced around. I've worked as an usher, waited tables, been a cashier. Life is tough, you have to gain and keep what you have during the good times in order to survive. If you spent all that bonus money and promotion money last year and are now out of a job, then you were too selfish can't really blame anyone but yourself.

So why in Japan don't people start again? Why in Japan? Is it an issue of entitlement? Is it drilled into their head at a younger age that if they can only have a job given to them (inherited) and if that job is gone than it's the end of the world? There was a high rate of suicides in Japan when the economy crashed in the early 90s, and again in the late 90s when the 'dot.com' bubble bursted. And now again? Why in Japan? Is this the only way out?

I went digging around a bit and found this interesting article from 2005 (Source: Espaco Academico

A few points include:

It has been largely pointed out that a Japanese suicidal act is unique because it has often been accompanied by meanings of valiance and vindication. Suicide has a longstanding cultural association with saving one's and/or the family's fame.

Japan advertised suicide, inwardly urging its members to commit suicidal acts, by implanting the vocabulary associated with saving face in order to prevent a possible rebellion against the government. The figure of the Kamikaze was idealized to glorify the war. It is important to remember that, outwardly, before Toyota, Mitsubishi, and other Japanese owned MNCs came along as representative of Japan's economic might, among those phenomena which had made Japan awe-inspiring to other countries was our "man-liness" in committing suicide.

Before the age of internet, there hardly existed a chance of meeting other suicide candidates, whereas now, finding companions has readily become available. Within a minute, we Japanese can find "I want to die too, let's do it together" in suicide sites. It's a new phenotype of our “group suicide culture” with a new emphasis on the least suffering, fear, and isolation. It is as if it were okay as long as people do it together and painlessly. Also in media discourse, those who recruited companions hardly got social sanction. Probably because once it was considered as suicide, it is by definition a voluntary act among participants. Even if not, they are dead, so whom to blame?

I haven't really digested all of this but this phenomenon of suicide in Japan has really startled me. In Canada, you are always taught that suicide is the cowardly and selfish way out. You're hurting the ones you love. If you contemplate suicide here, everyone will talk you out of it. But in Japan it seems to not only be accepted butin fact more people might join you!

I admit I'm not that knowledgable in this area. Being Canadian-born I was always taught to never give up and get back up when you're knocked down. It's the Canadian way. My parents came to Canada with nothing and worked hard to make a life for themselves and their children. Suicide would have been the easy way out after their country was lost. I know it's not fair to say the Japanese have no 'heart' or no 'guts', terms you hear all the time in sports. But looking at the numbers, how can one not make such a conclusion.

I would like to hear from all of you and learn more about this issue. Why in Japan?

Taste Test: Chinese Oreos

Source: The A.V. Club

When is an Oreo not an Oreo? When it's a Chinese Oreo.

No, that isn't a racist joke, at least not as far as we can tell. It's just our take on the Chinese version of the iconic chocolate-sandwich snackable. Branding or not, the stacked chocolate-wafer cookie that's masquerading under the Oreo name in the world's most populous country isn't an Oreo, or at least not the Oreo Americans have been horking down by the boxful for nearly a century. It's still a pretty damn good cookie, though.

The Chinese won't eat an American cookie but if they steal if and make a ripoff version and make it their own. They'll eat it. How patriotic!

Asian Ripoff XXV - Umbrella

Thanks to Jon at Ang Kape Ni LaTtEX for this song

Artist: Miss Ganda
Language: Filipino/Tagalog


Youtube Link

Pretty decent. Music not too different. Have no idea what the meaning is :)

Canada Wins Again! IIHF World Under-20

Canadians coast-to-coast are very proud today. The junior team wins it's 5th consecutive World Championship.

After the near semifinal debacle against a tough Russian team, Canada won easily as the Swedes fell over in the final as always. Sweden has won 7 silver medals now since their one and only gold medal in 1981.

Highlights:


Youtube Link

Singing O Canada:


Youtube Link

The best rendition you'll hear all year. I didn't know "WOO" was a lyric of O Canada :)

Police called out to settle cold feet row

Source: Ananova

A woman called police in China after her boyfriend refused to warm up her cold feet.

Police officer Xiao Deng, of Ningbo, said he received two consecutive calls, one from the woman complaining her boyfriend refused to warm her feet - the other from the man saying his girlfriend was too demanding.

Deng went out to the rental apartment, close to Ningbo University, to try to resolve the issue but found the couple still rowing, reports Modern Times.

He says the boyfriend told him: "Have you ever seen such a girlfriend? She put her cold legs on my belly, giving me stomach cramp.

"I asked her to take them away and she said she would only put them there for a short while. I agreed, but after 10 minutes she still had them there, saying it was very comfortable."

Deng says he eventually persuaded the boyfriend that it was a man's job to warm his girlfriend's feet but told the woman not to leave her feet there for too long.

The young couple put aside their differences and thanked him for coming out to solve their problem, he added.

Don't they have socks in China!?