Japanese Spending Money In Korea

Good value for the yen being used in Korea. Plus Korean stuff seems to be trendier these days from clothing, to music to entertainment and tv series. There tv stars are probably more popular in Japan now than Japanese stars. (Even though Korean soaps suck!)

Should giant Pandas Be Protected?

Source: ChinaSMACK

Giant Pandas have been unlucky this year. First an earthquake destroyed their safest home and now there is a British person who shows up and spills salt on the pandas’ wound. This British person’s name is Chris Packham, a presenter for the BBC. He claims that humans should not spend vast amounts of money to protect Giant Pandas, but rather let it naturally die off.

Packham’s reasoning is: Giant Pandas are not strong enough, unable to independently survive, and using the millions of British pounds used to protect Giant Pandas on other areas might yield better results. Packham is the host for the BBC channel two’s special program “Springwatch”. He believes that the method of first raising in captivity and then releasing into nature is pointless, because nature does not have enough habitat to maintain the Giant Panda’s survival.

He says: “‘Here is a species that, of its own accord, has gone down an evolutionary cul-de-sac. It’s not a strong species. Unfortunately, it’s big and cute and a symbol of the World Wide Fund for Nature and we pour millions of pounds into panda conservation. I reckon we should pull the plug. Let them go, with a degree of dignity.”

Sounds like an awful conclusion. Scientist try their best to save all sorts of animals from fish in the sea to birds in the sky. How can nature not have enough habitat for giant pandas when there room for bigger animals like elephants!

I am amazed how small a baby panda is. How can a BIG panda have such little babies! Look at horses for example, baby horses are huge!

Ichiro ejected for the first time ever

Source: MLB

What? Did umpires in the majors finally learn how to say "Fuck You" in Japanese?



Looked like a strike, hit the catcher's target and he framed it perfectly. I'm surprised Ichiro reacted this way with all of his experience. I'm sure there have been balls called strikes worse than this.

You're not allowed to argue calls and strikes and drawing a line embarasses the umpire. He knows better after playing for nearly 20 years.

Think the pressure is getting to him that he's in a tight race for the batting title and that he plays for a shit team.

Night Racing! Singapore GP

I watched the Singapore GP this morning. What a beautiful sight to see F1 racing at night! It looked like a grueling course that was long and with alot of turns. The drivers looked exhausted by the end.

Trailer: 十月圍城 Bodyguards and Assassins

I'm really really looking forward to this movie that comes out in Asia just before Christmas. It features an all-star cast and a good storyline.

The HUGE Baby Nighty Cap

A Chinese student is selling her own hand in marriage for £15,000 in a bid to save the life of a classmate.

A Frenchman was arrested for drunk driving after taking his car to a police station to distribute Alcoholics Anonymous pamphlets there

An Indonesian woman has given birth to an 8.7-kilogramme (19.2-pound) baby boy, the heaviest newborn ever recorded in the country, a doctor said Wednesday.



Doctors in China have discovered a six-inch knife blade that was left in a woman's bottom for four months.

A father in eastern India gave away his teenage daughter to a fellow gambler after he lost a card game, with police launching a hunt to retrieve the girl.

Sony Ping Pong Mandarin Commerical

HAHAHA that's pretty funny.

For those who can speak Mandarin. That's pretty bad right?

Mandarin's such a tonal language there's no way these guys can pronounce it properly on such short notice. Especially Manning who's from the south. I hear LeBron is learning Mandarin. Perhaps they should have gotten him!

Red Sox Rookie Hazing 2009

Source: Sox and Dawgs

Your name is Junichi Tazawa. All your life in Japan you've dreamed of being a professional ball player and then the ultimate dream of playing in the Major Leagues.

And then...



Ah rookies...

It’s that time of the year when MLB rookies across the league are getting the old hazing treatment. And with the Boston Red Sox embarking on their final road trip of the season, it was their rookies turn to play dress up.

107-year-old Malaysian woman seeks 23rd hubby

Source: Yahoo!

A 107-year-old Malaysian woman says she is ready to marry for the 23rd time because she fears her current drug addict husband might leave her for a younger woman, a report said Monday.

Wook Kundor made headlines four years ago when she married Muhammad Noor Che Musa, a man 70 years her junior in northern Terengganu state, with pictures of the couple's wedding splashed across regional newspapers.

But Wook is now looking for new love as she fears that Muhammad, 37, who is undergoing voluntary drug rehabilitation treatment in the capital Kuala Lumpur, will leave her once the programme ends, she told the Star newspaper.

"Lately, there is this kind of insecurity in me," the paper quoted her as saying, showing a photograph of the smiling, wrinkled-faced centenarian wearing a Muslim headscarf.

"I realise that I am an aged woman. I don't have the body nor am I a young woman who can attract anyone."

"My intention to remarry is to fill my forlornness and nothing more than that," she said, adding that she felt lonely without her husband by her side to celebrate the coming Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr next week.

Wook said she planned to visit Muhammad on the second day of Eid if her neighbours were willing to drive her to the capital.

Muhammad, who was a lodger in Wook's house, had previously said it was "God's will" that the couple fell in love.

It was such a shocker to hear about their marriage years ago. Does she feel insecure to not have a husband or something? Gotta face reality that not alot of people will marry a 107 years old lady unless they're around the same age

A Chinese 'Hero' for NBC's Hit Drama

Source: CriEnglish

Producers of "Heroes" are considering casting a Chinese actor to help expand its Chinese influence, Chinese media reported.

Producers of the popular American TV series "Heroes" are considering casting a Chinese actor to help expand the drama's growing Chinese influence, Chinese media reported on Wednesday.


Hong Kong-based actor Daniel Wu
The U.S. National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is seeking an English-speaking Chinese actor for the drama's planned sixth season, Yangtse Evening Post cited unnamed sources close to NBC.

Season 4, the latest completed season, will premiere on American small screens next week on September 21.

NBC is currently approaching Hong Kong-based stars Daniel Wu, Allen Ting and Stephen Fung for the role, according to the report. Daniel Wu and Stephen Fung share an American upbringing.

"Heroes", a science fiction drama revolving around a group of people with extraordinary abilities, debuted on NBC in 2006 with Japanese-American actor Masi Oka as one of its leads. Oka's presence has helped "Heroes" attract many Asian fans, particularly Japanese, according to Yangtse Evening Post.

Must be nice to be able to script for a 6th season even before showing 4th season!
As I've mentioned before, Daniel Wu is the worst Chinese actor ever. He's static and not understandable in either language. I would stop watching if he was cast. Allen Ting and Stephen Fung are ok but pretty obscure.

I think NBC need to expand more and research all the young actors in Chinese cinema, not those are have American roots.. This would be my list.

1. Lee Hom Wang

2. Nicholas Tse

These two guys know English for sure.
My other choices for favourite young male actors are..

3. Shawn Yue
4. Jay Chou
5. Cheng Chen

I'm not sure how good their English is but they got 2 years!

Imagine

Imagine ...

You're at a club when you spot a cute single girl across the dance floor. You get your groove on, and spit a little game to see if she's down.

To your delight, she is!

She murmurs in your ear, "my car's in the parking lot - why don't we head out there, and .. " deliberately trailing off the end of her sentence. With your curiosity (and everything else) aroused, you follow her to the parking lot, get in the car, only to see ...




My personal reaction at seeing all this Hello Kitty shit in one place?

Your mileage, of course, may vary

(via Hello Kitty Hell)

How to make wontons

I despair - not for myself - but for the future of civilization.

Asian Ripoff LXXVIII - A National Acrobat

An unusual Japanese bar band wearing some seriously dope wide neckties covers Black Sabbath's 1973 classic "A National Acrobat".

Wonder Girls Getting Disrespected in America?

Source: ALLKPOP

Photos of the Wonder Girls signing autographs for a fan in America have recently made their way into Korean cyberspace, making Korean Wonderfuls very angry.

The photos which were uploaded on the 18th of last month (August), were taken after the Wonder Girls had a fan signing event after performing in the Jonas Brothers concert. The photos made Korean Wonderfuls really angry which showed Sohee and Yubin, reaching over the table to sign on a worn sneaker of a fan who had placed it on the table. They felt that this was a mark of disrespect to the Wonder Girls.

Fans chided this particular American fan saying that even though the Wonder Girls weren't that famous yet in America, they shouldn't be subjected to this sort of humilation. Another felt that the Wonder Girls shouldn't have signed for this fan in this manner in the first place. Many fans felt really sorry for the Wonder Girls and sincerely hope that the Wonder Girls will soon gain a foothold in America with their songs.

This is a cultural difference that's tough to understand. I know that in Asia, shoes and underwear are considered extremely dirty. But the Wonder Girls are in America now. Korean fans seriously need to suck it up and not get so angry over small things like this. Signing shoes, shirts, and even body parts are what Americans do. If you're famous here in America and someone wants your signature on a shirt, why of course, you give it to them. Stop turning such stupid little acts into big ones.

For those who don't know, shoes are a big deal here in America. People will spend an entire month's wage on shoes and for children. It's a sign of status, so having someone famous sign your shoe is HUGE.

I recalled Cristiano Ronaldo was in Toronto in August and he signed a girl's belly button. I'm not sure she has showered yet.

Under The Knife in China

Want to see an extremely superficial place where billion of people compete with each other in looks? Welcome to China.

That Wang Lei guy is still bad looking even with the surgery.

That Fan Wenting girl? Her face isn't the problem, look at that hair, yikes!

So if you're at work and there's a fat ugly chick in a cubicle near you that pisses you off (there's always one) just realize that if you were in China, she wouldn't be there.

Snap the ball. Take a hit. Keep moving. Keep smiling.

Source: CBC

Bryan Chiu's career as a professional football centre in Montreal has followed the same, distinct pattern: Snap the ball. Take a hit. Keep moving. Keep smiling.

For 35 to 40 left-handed snaps a game. Sixteen to 18 regular-season games a year. Thirteen years. More than 8,000 chances. Few screw-ups.

Now 35, Chiu is at once one of the funniest men in the Canadian Football League (he once told a reporter quarterback Anthony Calvillo was far more familiar with his butt than his wife is), and also one of its most thoughtful.

He has lived a life that has closely resembled how he makes a living with the Alouettes.

"My dad was murdered, actually, when I was two," says Chiu, deep into a long phone interview after a practice in Montreal.

"He was murdered in Vancouver … and [my mom] was left as a 24-year-old widow with two young kids and no job, couldn't speak English, didn't have a driver's licence, didn't have a car, no life insurance from my dad, so she was in debt."

But Teresa Chiu provided for the family, made ends meet, pushed Bryan and his sister through school, "fed us, put clothes on our back."

And she instilled an overriding philosophy that has stayed with her son since then.

"She was my role model. She was the one person who always told me no matter what it is, keep a smile on your face because life is too short not to be happy and not to love what you do."

Snap the ball. Take a hit. Keep moving. Keep smiling.

Whenever I watch Les Alouettes, my mom always sees CHIU on the back of his jersey and says "Hey, a CHIU playing football!".

I really enjoyed reading this article about how a person has overcome adversity to be the best at his profession.

Really good words to live by. Snap the ball. Take a hit. Keep moving. Keep smiling.

AZN Pride

"Whaaat? Being AZN is tight!"

Save The Noodles!

Source: San Mateo County Times

An effort is under way to preserve a traditional Asian approach to preparing certain noodles that currently goes against state health codes.

State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, plans to craft legislation to protect a long-standing method involving the production of fresh rice noodles that stores the food at room temperature for up to eight hours before being served.

State regulations, however, require such food to be refrigerated or kept at or above 140 degrees at all times to prevent harmful bacteria from growing and sickening restaurant patrons.

But that requirement "destroys the characteristic of this particular rice noodle," Yee said during a news conference Friday at the Koi Palace restaurant. The evidence shows that "this product has been produced, sold and eaten for thousands of years, and we have never had a problem with this particular food at all."

The existing codes "can be unnecessarily broad" and culturally insensitive, he added. "Both history and independent tests demonstrate that these noodles are safe, and our laws should allow for their production."

I'm all for saving noodles that are tasty and healthy but laws are laws. Instead of claiming racism and using terms like "culturally insensitive" just provide the government with proof that these noodles are safe and actually taste better under these conditions. There are plenty of exceptions and other foods that are left out for hours. The government can't think of all scenarios so just present factual evidence and they'll turn around.

The state senator's right in that millions of people eat them that way without any problems. He's also a jackass for resorting to the cultural insensitivity card, since it's basically used as a trump card to end all further rational discussion.

They didn't make this law to specifically be racist so give the rhetoric a rest. It's really tacky.

China is (still) missing the point

Beijing will be sending what they have described as "harmony makers" to the Uighur city of Urumqi to "soothe tensions" following a fresh round of rioting caused by rumors of "syringe stabbings". Doubtlessly, the city's Uighurs were just dying to have a word with government agents telling them to stay calm. This whole "rioting" thing was just a misunderstanding that distracts from the glory of Han rule and the impending dissolution of archaic and decadent Uighur cultural habits, you see.

The big question (still) left unexamined by Beijing: whether the state sponsored migration of millions of Han Chinese to traditionally non-Chinese areas, like Xinjiang and Tibet may have something to do with the surliness of the natives towards the central government.

Super Mario says...

Make your own Mario message!

Japanese women into cosplay?

Via Sankaku Complex (I know, I know ...) comes news that 30% of women in Japan have either tried cosplay, or are interested in trying it. The article goes onto break down the numbers even further, by saying 17.5% listed "anime and manga" as their primary interest, followed by 14.7% listing kigurumi as their primary interest, and finally, "maid and waitress" and military uniforms rounding it out (entire article here).

Since I regard cosplay with a special form of horror reserved for normal people, I'd be interested in hearing from the fans on this one, especially women. What's the allure? Anyone?

"Then they said, 'Oink, oink, Hitler' ... "

Wait ... what the fuck? Is he auditioning for Disgrasian or something?


BONUS FOOTAGE:

A challenger appears!

Who was that masked man?

Apparently, Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash thought the Chinese are so unable to distinguish white people from one another, that he could conceal his identity from the locals on a Beijing municipal basketball court with nothing more than messed up looking aviator goggles and a bandanna.

Nope. That trick doesn't work. Quoth Nash:

"I had on a Chinese opera bandana and I had on some protective goggles," Nash told the AFP, laughing.

"As soon as I walked on they recognized me. It didn't really work."

Who could guess that it would hard to remain incognito when you're the two time NBA MVP in a country with a half billion professional basketball fans?