Yo! Yao could be done, for good

Source: ESPN

The Houston Rockets already said that Yao Ming's recovery from a broken foot was behind schedule, but that setback might now cost him all of next season or worse.

"At this point, the injury has the potential for him missing this next season and could be career threatening," team physician Tom Clanton said, according to the Houston Chronicle. "One of the things we are trying to get is a consensus opinion on that, to make certain there is no option we are overlooking that would provide an earlier return or would be an option for treatment that he would prefer rather than doing additional surgery."

The team is weighing different options. Yao suffered a hairline fracture of the tarsal navicular bone of his left foot in the Rockets' second-round playoff loss to the Lakers on May 8.

The team initially said Yao would miss eight to 12 weeks, but a bone scan last week revealed that the fracture is not healing properly.

"We are not going to comment," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said, according to the Chronicle, "until we have all the facts."

.....more

Not good. But not surprising either. Being 7'6" just walking would hurt ones feet let alone playing basketball. Rockets definitely have to trade the malcontent McGrady in order to get a big man.

China's Empty Nest

I love the guy at the beginning who says "It's not about the money, it's about spirit." Easy to say when it's not your money!

How can a stadium not be used for anything? Olympic Stadium in Montreal, the biggest debacle of all time, still held many events afterwards like baseball, football, concerts. Even though it went way over-budget it did recup it's losses over the years and is still in use today.

The problem in China was the built EVERYTHING new and in one central area. Again using the Montreal example they used alot of existing arenas in 1976. Remember Sugar Ray Leonard's gold medal? That was at the Maurice Richard Arena. Remember Nadia Comaneci's perfect 10? That was at the famous Montreal Forum. And they still lost a tonne of money.

China is getting no return at all. The Chinese prepared for years and spent billions of dollars for essential a 2 week orgasm. The Bird's Nest should be China's Wembley stadium. They could have Chinese national team soccer games there plus concerts. But in China every needs security (cause we all know the Chinese are a fanatical, rioting kind of people) and everything is corrupt. Six or seven million dollars a day to hold an event there? Holy shit how many people have their hands in the pie?

We'll see what London does in 2012 but I don't think they're building much from scratch. They will build a new Olympic Stadium but the tennis will be at Wimbledon, the soccer will be at Wembley, and the basketball will be at the O2 Arena. That will reduce alot of costs.

Philippine roasted pig parade

From Reuters, Roasted pigs in costumes are paraded on the feast of John the Baptist.



That's alot of pigs!

Asian Ripoff LXX - My Favorite Things

Artists: Mao Daichi(left) and Minako Honda
Language: Japanese

Youtube Link

Very nicely done :)

Everybody has a stream bath

Source: VietNamNet

Each afternoon, Vu Oai commune in Quang Ninh province in Vietnam is very bustling, like during a festival. Everybody from kids to elderly people cheerfully go to the local stream to swim.

In Vu Oai, from babies of 2-3 years old to old people of 70-80, everyone is closely attached to the local stream. Vu Oai commune’s chairman named Tay said having a stream bath is a cultural aspect of local residents.

At 4-5pm everyday, both in summer and winter, everyone goes to the stream to swim.

Hmmm I don't know. A stream bath every single day? Once in awhile would be cool but to go there everyday would get boring pretty quick. Although it must be nice to be able to swim year-round without freezing your ass off.

I like the girl with the polka-dot pants. That's cute :)

Did You Get Your Dad Condoms?

Source: Shanghaist

The more filial amongst us know that Father's Day was this past Sunday. While many of us were giving flowers or chocolate (or in one editor's case, a bottle of 12-year-old Jamesons) for our dad, a 13-year-old Chinese girl gave her single dad a box of condoms as the "ultimate gift for Father's Day.

"Dad,

First of all, Happy Father's Day! I am going to give a very special present today; I hope that you will not be mad at me! Hehe! (Pig head)

I know that you have been working hard in and outside of our house. You have to go on business trips often while taking good care of me. For your health and happiness in life, I bought the newest style of condoms for you! I have seen the same brand that you bought before in your drawer! (Heart)

I hope that you understand my heart! Haha~ Again, Happy Father's Day! I also hope that you will find a pretty girlfriend soon! Hehe~ Relax, I won't tell mom!

Your well-behaved daughter, Wenwen.
June 21st."

Since the photo has been posted online, many netizens have expressed their feelings towards this incident. Some of them resented that the father did not respect his daughter's privacy and posted the letter online; some others are surprised that the child is so precocious. However, most of the people are approved of what this lovely daughter did for her dad,

"Your daughter is very understanding of you! She is afraid that you are lonely and asks you to find a girlfriend, very caring."

"Your daughter wants you to find her a mother.“

"Don't scold your daughter! She is so cute!"

People seem to like what the girl did for her father. However, in most cases, Chinese still have doubts about condoms -- the condoms can surely prevent STD and pregnancy, but does approving condom using mean to support premarital sex?

The father's already been marrying so talking about premarital sex at this stage seems obsolete. Unless the father is going for 18 year old virgins.

A 13-year old even knowing about condoms is good. Some have critizied the Chinese for not knowing enough about sex so the fact that she knows is encouraging.

How did she buy condoms? Do they sell condoms to 13-year olds?

But I was always taught adult business does not concern kids. Remember when you were a kid and if there were guest over to the house you were immediately sent away.

"This is adult business, kids go play in the other room"
"Get out of here, the adults are talking"

In Asian culture there a huge hierarchal difference between adults and children. Even young adults are very nervous when speaking to older people. So I think although cute, it's still inappropriate for kids to encourage their fathers to have sex.

Filipino inmates honour Michael Jackson's death

Source: UPI

Hundreds of inmates in a Philippines prison honored the late pop icon Michael Jackson the way they've always celebrated his music, officials said, by dancing.

During the past two years, the more than 1,000 prisoners of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center have routinely danced in unison to Jackson's "Thriller" album. The spectacle of the orange uniform-clad men's synchronized dancing not only attracted hundreds of curiosity-seekers to the prison but a video of it became an Internet sensation. The 4-minute video clip attracted 23 million views after being posted in 2007.

"He is like the God to them. It is Michael's music that gives them international recognition," Byron Garcia, a security consultant at the prison told Xinhua inside the sprawling jail.

After Jackson died Thursday, the prisoners decided to perform to four Jackson songs in a row as a final tribute.

The 1,581 inmates, serving sentences up to 10 years for murder, rape and drug crimes, Saturday danced to an audience of about 500 visitors and journalists, the Chinese news service reported.

"I am really sad, because Michael Jackson is my idol," said an inmate officials identified as one of the primary dance coaches. "Filipinos are so Westernized and that's why lots of us loved Michael."

Jackson performed in Manila in December 1996.

I'm always amazing how co-ordinated the dancing is. I remember watching the Thiller one and it was great! Here's the newest one.

Inmates singing "We are the World". I think I've seen everything now :)


Youtube Link

4-month prison term for groping

Source: Breitbart

Kazuhide Uekusa, once a well-known TV commentator and economist, will get four months in prison for molesting a female high school student on a Tokyo train in 2006 as a petty bench of the Supreme Court decided earlier this week to turn down his final appeal.

Presiding Judge Takaharu Kondo of the third petty bench made the decision Thursday, upholding the 4-month prison term handed down in district and high court trials against Uekusa for public indecency.

According to the lower courts' rulings, Uekusa, 48, put his hand up the high school student's skirt and touched her body on the night of Sept. 13, 2006, on a commuter train between Shinagawa and Kamata stations on the Keihin Kyuko Line.

Uekusa pleaded not guilty, saying he was mistaken for the real perpetrator.

But the Tokyo District Court convicted Uekusa based on eyewitnesses' testimonies, and the Tokyo High Court affirmed the ruling.

Earlier, Uekusa was convicted of public indecency and fined 500,000 yen for trying to look up a female high school student's skirt using a mirror at a Tokyo railway station in April 2004. He was a professor at Waseda University at that time.

Sad isn't it. Well known tv presenter, experct economist, charged in petty court. I'm sure he had everything, probably was married. He's known for his criminal events. It's just an illness isn't it :(

Chinese newspapers mourn the death of Michael Jackson

Source : Danwei

In lieu of an in-depth front page story today, here's a collection of front pages from Chinese newspapers who marked the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson:



Most of the headlines are variations on either "Michael Jackson dies" or "Goodbye Michael." A few newspapers went with something different, but the usual punning headlines that accompany major international news stories were fairly uncommon:

* Dongguan Times (东莞时报): "The Whole World Mourns"
* Chengdu Evening News (成都晚报): "Farewell to a Legend"
* New Information (新消息报): "The King Will Not Return"
* Modern Express (现代快报): "Heaven Gets the Moonwalk"
* City Evening News (城市晚报): "Remember"
* Chinese Business View (华商报): "The Black and White Life of a Lonely King"

Michael Jackson was a big influence on Rain

Source: Asianfanatics

Rain is in Macau for his Six to Five Fashion Concert. At the press conference before the fashion concert, Rain told the press that Michael Jackson was his idol since he was young and is the motivation for his dancing. Michael Jackson has definitely affected Rain's life.

Many of our readers pointed out that MJ passed away on Rain's birthday. Rain celebrated his 27th birthday on 25th June and for the first time in ten years, he spent his birthday in Seoul, with his family. It was a happy day for him, until he found out about his idol's death the very next day, at the airport, on his way to Macau.

That's sad for Rain that his hero died on his birthday.

Here's a video of Rain and other Korean artists dancing to Michael Jackson's songs :)


Youtube Link

Shanghai Building Collapses

Source: China Daily

A 13-floor apartment building under construction collapsed Saturday morning in Shanghai, killing one worker.

Witnesses said the whole building started to fall down at about 5:30 am on Saturday and a 28-year-old worker surnamed Xiao from Anhui province was buried in the collapse and killed, the Xinhua news agency reported. No other casualties are reported.

Zhang Supong, a witness across a river to the collapsed building, said his family and neighbors were shocked when they felt the earth shake in the morning.

"It was just like an earthquake," he told China Daily, adding there was no visual damage in his apartment.

The authorities have ordered suspension of the construction and a thorough investigation of the collapse.

A man, who is in his 30s and declined to be named, told China Daily that he just bought an apartment beside the collapse building and with this accident, he would terminate the contract with the property developers.

The apartment building is at a premium location in Shanghai, about five metro stops from downtown areas, and is sold at a price of 18,000 yuan per sq m.

Local media reported on Friday that some cracks appeared on the anti-flood bank near the collapsed building, but the cause of the cracks was also uncertain.

A) This is what happens when you cut corners (literally)
B) This is what happens when your building is 13 floors. It should have only been 8 floors.

I thought Michael Jackson was white!

Source: Japan Times

Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura was quick to retract what could be considered a racist remark Friday over the color of late pop star Michael Jackson's skin.

During a news conference Friday morning, the media reported a news flash on Jackson's death, and Kawamura was asked by a reporter to comment on his passing.

Admitting that he was not very familiar with either Jackson or his songs, Kawamura expressed regret over the sudden tragedy, and went on to reveal that he had seen the late singer at former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung's inauguration in 1998.

"I had extremely little knowledge (about Jackson) but I remember he looked completely white and I did not get the impression that he was black at all," Kawamura said.

Later during the same news conference, Kawamura withdrew his statement, saying it could cause "misunderstanding."

His words "must not be (considered) a discriminatory remark," Kawamura said. "That was not my intention at all . . . please let me retract it.

"It was extremely regrettable that such a major star met with an untimely death," Kawamura said.

Unlike Prime Minister Taro Aso, who has been repeatedly criticized for his verbal gaffes, the soft-spoken Kawamura is usually more careful, often attempting to explain and excuse his boss' slips of the tongue.

Stoopid politicans always trying to say the right thing. If you don't Michael Jackson just say so.

"I didn't really listen to his music but I know he was immensely popular and he'll be missed by his fans."

That's it!

Blue, Red, and Green Japanese beer!

Source: Japanorama

One beer two beer red beer blue beer! Japan's
Abashiri Brewery is well on their way to offering us the united colors of beer, though nobody seems to have requested this of them. Regardless, Okhotsk Blue (also known as Ryuho Draft) joins Abashiri's rainbow-hued beer lineup along with Hamanasu Red draft and Shiretoko Green draft.

Here's a short video from Abashiri showing the cool blue beer and a bit of the local scenery:


Youtube Link

.....more

Not sure I would like coloured or flavoured beer. Reminds of Dennis Leary standup about Cranberry Beer :)


Youtube Link

Made in China: 55 Millionaires Daily

Source: Luxury Insider

Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management estimates that 55 millionaires are created every day in China, despite the trying times. The Capgemini and Merrill Lynch World Wealth Report notes that China’s millionaire population actually dropped by some 12 percent in 2008 but the Chinese wealth machine has not hit the brakes.

The daily China millionaire estimate is attributed to Dan Sontag, president of Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management.

Now in its 13th year, the survey defines millionaires as those with USD1 million or more in investible assets (including real estate). Surprisingly, the USA’s wealthy population was not the worst hit by far, dropping by a mere 19 percent to settle at 2004 levels.

Ah communism. The ideology where capitalism is evil and everyone in the state works equally. Can't believe people were so stupid back then to be duped. There is no equality. The gap between rich and poor in China is so wide now there's no middle class!

Olivia Munn Topless in Playboy - Sort of. BLAH

Meh. I think her in the Wonder Woman outfit is hotter

Source: Moo News

Olivia Munn, the co-host for G4’s Attack of the Show, has been featured in the July-August issue of Playboy, which was on store shelves on June 19. Although she wanted to pose for the cover of the men’s magazine, Munn didn’t want to get totally naked.

She said that she told them ‘no’ immediately about going nude. Unless someone is 40 and they need to prove something, Munn continued, she didn’t think that she needed to be naked for the shoot. She thought it would be a sellout on her part if she did, but she turned out to like telling everyone that she got the offer to pose - she was very excited.

Soon, Playboy called her back to confirm that they would agree to do a non-nude photo shoot. In the photos of the spread, Munn appears naked, but her hair is covering her breasts. Despite the fact that there is nothing showing, which is totally odd for Playboy, the pics of Munn are still very hot.

The topless, yet non-topless photos, which look like something out of a Maxim magazine, leave a little to the imagination - something that her legions of fans certainly have. Although they wish that Munn would bare it all for them, they may miss the mystery later if she did.

Munn said that even though she didn’t want to do the spread nude, she doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with the other girls who do. She added that she is very proud for being on the cover of the mag.

The July-August Issue? When did playboy go to once every two months an issue? They must be hurting. Also, when has playboy agreed to have someone topless but not showing anything. If there's no titties it don't count.

Plus it makes no sense for Munn. She's says only washed up celebs do it so what's she saying about herself? If I were to be on playboy, my dad would kill me, and I'd have to go all the way or not at all. This partial covering up nudity is pretty lame. What a cop-out.

There are hotter pictures in Maxim!

57% of 20-Somethings Ignorant of Korean War

Source: Korea Times

Fifty-nine years after the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War, nearly four in 10 South Koreans aren't familiar with the tragic fratricidal war, according to a recent survey.

A survey of 1,000 adults over 19, conducted by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security (MPAS) in April, showed that 36.9 percent of respondents said they didn't know when the Korean War had broken out.

By age, 56.6 percent of those in their 20s said they didn't know when the war had occurred, while 28.7 percent of those in their 30s and 23 percent of those in their 40s said the same thing, it said.

``This is a very serious problem that more and more people, especially youngsters, are not well aware of or not interested in the Korean War, where millions of South Koreans were killed,'' an official of the Ministry of National Defense said. ``Pan-governmental efforts are required to make people understand properly about the Korean War and, in particular, educate youngsters about the war and history.''

The official referred to a survey last year, suggesting that more than 35 percent of elementary school students misunderstood that the Korean War had broken out following the South's invasion into the North.

The war broke out on June 25, 1950, when North Korean troops invaded the South, crossing the 38th parallel, the line diving the two Koreas. Twenty-one countries dispatched troops under the United Nations flag to fight against North Koreans backed by China.

The war resulted in a devastating death toll with at least 2 million Korean civilians killed, according to data. South Korea sustained more than 1 million casualties, while estimated communist casualties were 2 million. Casualties among the United Nations allies totaled 16,532.

The war ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The two Koreas remain technically at war.

.....more

Similar to the previous article about Korean-Canadians being sympathetic to North Korea I find this story puzzling. How can South Koreans not know their history? In Canada WWI and WWII were more than 60 years ago but all Canadians know the stories and pay our respects everytime there's Remembrance Day or an anniversary.

Is the South Korean school system just not teaching anything related to the war? If so that's a shame cause all war veterans should be rememebered. Why is there no hatred at all between the two Koreas? Is it foreshadowing for a possible reunification? That's seems to be a pipedream. As the article states, the two countries are still at war. IIRC The Vietnam war ended nearly 35 years ago and the two sides still hate each other. They still argue over the flag every day!

Asian Ripoff LXIX - Michael Jackson

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery right? The King of Pop had a huge influence in Asia where many of his songs were covered. Most of them were in movies. Here are some.

Smooth Criminal - from the Chinese movie short The Terrorists of Birdcage Mountain


Youtube Link

Beat It - from the Chinese movie 007 vs. the man in black


Youtube Link

Indian Thriller

Youtube Link

And of course there was Suleman Mirza who absolutely destroyed Britain's Got Talent one year. (he should have won)


Youtube Link

RIP MJ!

Korean-Canadian sympathy for North Korea?

Source: London Free Press

Past comments by Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff are coming back to haunt him as members of the Korean community accuse him of suggesting he would starve North Koreans.

While at Harvard in 2005, Ignatieff said, “I strongly support reductions in food aid” to strengthen the international community’s negotiations with North Korea on nuclear weapons.

“Is that a difficult human rights problem? You bet. But that’s where I would go,” he said at the time. “I would look at the food aid, and all the bilateral stuff we are doing that keeps this odious regime going.”

His comments have now touched a nerve in the Korean community.

“He is realistically saying let’s starve the North Korean people and let’s see if the North Koreans will feed them,” said Jack Kim, executive director of the human rights organization HanVoice.

Kim, who said he only recently became aware of Ignatieff’s comments, plans to ask Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay to clarify them at a roundtable with other Korean groups in Toronto Thursday.

.....more

Koreans please educate me. Why would Korean-Canadian be upset that a leader wants to starve North Korea? Isn't North Korea THE ENEMY? I would have thought they would be jumping for joy.

Do Korean-Canadians support North Korean people cause they think they if you starve North Korea, they will be attacked? What is the motive here?

China bans all porn, even sex ed!

Source: Reuters

Ordinary web users in China will be banned from surfing sex-related medical and research websites from next month, amid an Internet crackdown on pornographic online content, according to new regulations.

Medical information service providers must install software to ensure only professionals can access sites that carry information and research about sex, the regulations on the website of the Ministry of Health (www.moh.gov.cn) said.

"It is prohibited to spread pornographic content in the name of sex-related scientific research," the regulations said.

But the rules risk slowing sexual health education in a country where many people are too embarrassed to talk publicly about sex.

Chat rooms on health channels in popular web sites, which are one of the few sources of information on sexuality and sexually transmitted diseases, may also be covered by the regulations.

"The health sections of web portals are not allowed to conduct sex-related research services," the regulation added.

The rules do not specify exactly what is covered by "scientific research" into sex.

The rules come after a series of anti-porn efforts that culminated in the announcement earlier this month that Beijing would demand the installation of "Green Dam" Internet filtering software on all new personal computers manufactured or shipped after July 1.

Just like anything in life. The internet has both good a bad elements. We all know the internet can be a dangerous place where kids and teenagers can run into violent, sex and tasteless sites. But technological advances is always really fascinating to me. Kids now can take pictures, upload them, text 100 miles an hour. When I was a kid I couldn even turn Bumblebee back into a car :(

The Chinese government is scared of EVERYTHING and the more they restrict the better for them to maintain control. In this case they will lose out alot on sexual health and education in a country that is still too naive about sex and too embarassed to ask.

That's the wrong taco, meng!

Source: USA Today

A Hindu father from Ohio has filed a complaint with the Justice Department claiming his son was forced to eat a beef taco in the school cafeteria.

Ashish Gandhi says the boy ate the taco at the Academy of World Languages, a public magnet school in Cincinnati. Hindus consider eating beef a sacrilege.

Cincinnati Public Schools attorney Gary Winters told investigators the boy chose the taco himself, and the employee who gave it to him was unaware of his dietary restrictions.

Gandhi, who moved to the U.S. from India in 2007, calls the taco meal an "intentional act of religious bigotry." He filed a separate complaint claiming the school has refused to offer his son services for students who don't speak English.

Woah woah woah. There's an Academy of World Languages? What do they each there? Forced to eat? How do you force anyone to eat anything? It's a cafeteria! The kid should know what looks like meat and what doesn't. It's his religion!

How did the father know that the his kid ate beef? Was he there to witness it? How does the kid even know what beef taste like? If the kid went home and told his dad that he had beef and the kid knew what he was doing right?

So according to the dad, let's say for example I'm the employee. I take the student down to the cafeteria and say "Hey kid, this is all the stuff we have in this wonderful cafeteria, have at her". That's it right? My responsibility is done right? I've offered this wonderful student a meal.

This father wants me to

A) Offer he son food
B) Be aware of what his son can or cannot eat
C) Be able to speak hindi

Does he want me to spoonfeed it to him too? What does he think this is? Wolfgang Puck's Fine Dining? It's a fucking school cafeteria. He's lucky they give the kid any food at all and the fat cafeteria monitor lady (we all had one) doesn't shove it up his throat.

With attitudes like this, he seriously should be sent back home to India. I support deportation.

RIP Michael Jackson

So I sit here watching tv and see "Michael Jackson Dies" all over the tv screen.

My favorite singer growing up. My dad bought me the Thriller cassette when I was 5 and my brother and I would play it constantly.

My dad just walked into the house and saw the tv.

First reaction:

"Did his skin fall off ir something?"

I smirked a bit but now I'm sad again.

Stick Your Finger Up A Melon

Source: Yahoo!

A kung fu master has jabbed his way into the Malaysian records book after piercing four coconuts with his index finger in a little over 30 seconds, according to a newspaper report.

Ho Eng Hui, 55, made it into the Malaysia Book of Records for coconut opening with his 30.81 second feat, the New Straits Times reported Monday.

"Now, I will start preparing myself to get into the Guinness Book of World Records," Master Ho told the newspaper.

"This is not an illusion or black magic. I am able to do this after mastering the Chinese martial art technique of using the strength of my finger, from a martial arts master in Singapore."

Hundreds of people, many of them tourists, witnessed the record breaking coconut piercing in Malacca on Saturday.

Master Ho smashed his previous record of breaking three coconuts in 70 seconds.

Youtube Link


OW!

Japanese Playboy No More?

Source: Mainichi

Naked blondes, interviews with celebrities, hardboiled detective stories ... Up until it disappeared from newsstands last November, the Japanese version of American men's magazine Playboy -- Monthly Playboy, published by Shueisha -- was crammed with Japan's vision of the U.S.

The first issue of "the men's magazine of the world" went on sale in May 1975. Just 11 years after restrictions on foreign travel were relaxed, the U.S. was still something of a mystery in Japan, with just 750,000 people travelling there a year. Its 440,000 first print run sold out in a few hours; and after six months, it had a circulation of around 900,000 copies.

Chin Naito, 68, former writer of the famous column "Yomazu ni Shineru ka!" misses those days.

"Back then, anything from America was news. The pin-ups, the hard news, they were all 'letters from America.' That's why it sold."

For Japanese, America in the mid-1970s was far from ideal. Following the Watergate scandal of 1974 and the ignominious end of the Vietnam War in 1975, the rotten side of the nation that had inspired both yearning and fear during the 30 years following World War II was revealed, setting the stage for fighting out against traditional authority and values.

Among the young people of Japan, who'd been defeated in the university riots of 1968 and the political crises of 1970, there was both an affinity with the poor side of the United States, and a yearning for the vital idea of America. The content and production of Monthly Playboy reflected the deeply mixed feelings of the era.

.....more

Mystery always creates intrigue. The more you don't know about something the more you want to know about it. The Japanese knew nothing about the US but could get a sense of it through playboy. Blonde naked girls? WOW! American articles about sex? WOW!

The equivalent in Canada would those old CCCP guys! Remember them? In 1972 we heard that the Soviets had a decent hockey team that won many amateur tournaments. Let's have a friendship series that promotes the game and we can teach them a few things and improve them. The two teams nearly killed each other. The US miracle on Ice was the same too. It was our way or living against their way of living. Now what is there? Canada-Russia doesn't have the same impact. I'm sure the CCCP girls were hot and mysterious too behind the iron curtain. Now, not so much.

I guess North Korea is the mystery now? If you sent playboy to North Korea it would be really popular! And North Korean girls are mysterious to us too right?

Asian Ripoff LXVIII - There You'll Be

Artist: A-Mei Chang
Language: Mandarin

Youtube Link

Very good. Voice is pretty good and capture the feeling of the song that is usually lost in covers.

Japanese like American Food

Source: Slate

The image of Japan as being inhospitable to imports is old, enduring, and not entirely unjustified. The government is offering immigrants from South America—many themselves descendants of Japanese emigrants—$3,000 to return home (the better to free up jobs for native-born Japanese). The vista that meets visitors at Narita Airport is hardly more welcoming: masked staffers, health disclosure forms, and a sign warning that people who are coming in from countries such as Bolivia and Brazil must go in a special line. (They're looking for either soccer players or swine flu.) On the 80-minute ride from Narita Airport to Tokyo, I tried in vain to spot an imported car on the road.

But Japan—Tokyo, at least—isn't uniformly hostile to imports. Though fiercely proud of its many cuisines, Japan is surprisingly open to food-related businesses from overseas. I instantly marked the Subway franchise as the place to turn off the main drag to get to the hotel. An array of recognizable names welcomes visitors to Gaien-Higashi Street: Wolfgang Puck, McDonald's, Outback Steakhouse, the Hard Rock Café (with Hello Kitty playing the guitar in the window). And there's even the ne plus ultra mediocre American cuisine: T.G.I. Friday's. I've traveled about 20 hours and 7,000-odd miles to wind up in a strip mall. Tokyo's SPC (Starbucks per capita) ratio rivals that of Manhattan. And there are also what might be dubbed theoretical imports—faux American brands that exist only outside the United States, such as Bagel & Bagel, which features the ice bagel. (To me that sounds more like a Jewish congregation in Manitoba than something to put some lox on.)

.....more

I think the article here is trying to say that even though it seems that the Japanese don't like foreigners but they like foreign food and so that might ease relations and help people learn about each other. I think that's kind of irrelevant. Food is a service and people don't mind other races when they're serving them. People don't really care where the food comes from and sometimes they just want something different.

For example, Chinese takeout is very popular in America. The fact that people like it doesn't mean they like Chinese people. In fact I think it's the opposite. If there were to be a racist American, he would want the Chinese guy to make cheap Chinese food and nothing else. No professionals and no trades people. Just a slave to service. I bet you someone from the KKK wouldn't mind a Chinese guy delivering food to him all the time. But if you take his job from him, he'll whack you.

Sake Education Show

Source: Wine Library TV

Here is a show about the most underappreciated wine of them all. SAKE!

Alot of background in the first part, taste testing and details in the second part.


Youtube Link


Youtube Link

Love Gary's stuff always bring so much energy and information in his videos.

Where was lesbian manga when I was young?

Source: After Ellen

Strawberry Panic! is the story of Aoi Nagisa, a transfer student who comes to Astrea Hill, a campus that houses three elite girls' schools: St. Miator; St. Spica and St. LuLim.

Amid spring sunshine and the cherry blossoms swirling in the wind, Nagisa meets and is seduced by charismatic playgirl Hanazono Shizuma.

Shizuma is the current Etoile ("star") — the elected figurehead of the three schools.

Meanwhile, another transfer student, the angelic Kotohana Hikari, has managed to do what no one else has ever done, by capturing the heart of Ohtori Amane, known as the "Prince" of St. Spica.

In the grand tradition of Japanese Girls Love literature, the students of all three schools are caught up in a dance around these two transfer students as the election for the campus's new Etoile approaches.

The story follows Nagisa as she is captivated, teased by, and ultimately falls in love with Shizuma, who has a reputation for loving and leaving her women. Nagisa struggles with the difficulty of being a transfer student who has gained the attention of the Etoile, trying to avoid becoming the most recent in a long line of hearts that Shizuma has wooed and broken.

.....more

Woo! A lesbian love triangle in high school. That's a bit young to involved in stuff like this no? I always wondered if gay and lesbian issues were taboo in Japan. Seems suitable for kids in Japan to be reading this. I'm not sure a manga/comic like this would be allowed in the US with the looney right wing having as much power as it does.

Strawberry Panic

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Here's the teaser trailer for The Last Airbender



Youtube Link

Looks really good! Just reading up on it, it looks like a multi-cultural cast. Aang is going to be played by a really talented kid named Noah Ringer who he’s phenomenal. So yeah the kid is white but Aang looks white in the anime anyways. I've only seen the odd episode here and there and I found the Avatar story is better than Dragonball so there's alot more of a story to work with.

Japanese addresses: No street names. Block numbers.

Source: Derek Sivers

I love learning something that flips my head upside down. So, let’s look at one of the coolest head-flippers I’ve found: Japanese addresses.

Imagine you’re standing in Chicago and a Japanese man asks you, “What’s the name of this block?”

Mailing addresses in Japan, after naming the province and city, are a series of three numbers: district number, block number, building number. That’s how the building is found. No street names.


Thinking you’ve misunderstood the question, you say, “This is Erie Street. We’re between Wabash Ave and Rush Street.”

But the man asks you again, “No. Not the streets. This. (Pointing to the middle question mark on the map, below.) What’s the name of this block?”

You say, “Uh. That’s the block between Huron and Erie, between Wabash and Rush.”

(Blocks don’t have names! Streets have names! Blocks are just the chunks of land in-between streets. Duh!)

He leaves disappointed.

--------

Now imagine you’re standing in Tokyo. You ask someone, “What’s the name of this street?”

Thinking she’s misunderstood the question, she says, “This is block 5. That is block 8.”

But you ask again, “Huh? No. This. (Pointing to one of the question marks on the map, below.) What’s the name of this street?”

She says again, “Uh. This is block 5. That is block 8.” (See the map, below.)

See: in (most of) Japan, streets don’t have names! Blocks have numbers! Streets are just the empty space in-between blocks. Duh!

And the buildings on the block are numbered in order of age. The first building built there is #1. The second is #2, even if it’s on the opposite side. So you end up with house numbers that look like this:



Cool Huh?

It's even cooler in Vietnam.. It's blocks and streets!

A Vietnamese address would look like this:

267/56/70/25 Area XXX, District XXX, Street XXX

Go to Area XXX, then District XXX then Street XXX then block 56, turn at block 70 and turn at block 25 and find house number 267 :)

Becoming Canadian

Source: Metro Ottawa

It has been almost 30 years since she left her native Vietnam.

But while she thrives in Ottawa — a city she’s happily called home since 1981 — lawyer Nhung Hoang remains active in the immigrant community helping people in refugee camps.

“I have been a refugee, so I want to help them,” she said. “They need a place that they can call home.”

Looking back on her arrival in Ottawa, Hoang said the first time she stepped out of the hotel she was staying in, it was so cold that she had to immediately run back inside. It was a sunny day, so she just assumed it would be warm.

After all, the 25-year-old had just flown to Canada after a six-month stay in a refugee camp in Hong Kong.

Before arriving in Hong Kong, Hoang had worked as an English as a second language teacher in Danang, Vietnam.

In July 1980 — unable to tolerate life under the communist regime — Hoang’s parents put her and her brother on a boat to Hong Kong.

They spent five days at sea before the Hong Kong Royal Marine Police escorted the boat to shore.

Because she could speak English, Hoang worked as an interpreter at the Red Cross clinic in the refugee camp until the Government of Canada sponsored her and her brother to move to Ottawa.

When she arrived, Hoang took a four-month course in electronics assembly at Algonquin College.

Despite a degree in education from a university in Vietnam, she could only find work in a factory. After one year in the factory, she enrolled at the University of Ottawa and got a sociology degree, which was followed by a law degree in 1988. Huang was called to the bar in March 1990.

“At the time, my mom and dad were still in Vietnam. My father worked for the former regime and they could hide some gold that they could sell to eat,” she said. “That’s how I could go to school. We were lucky that we didn’t have to work very hard to send money back home to them.”

She married Jonathan Chaplan in 1993; he’s learned to speak fluent Vietnamese. They have a son, 15.

“In Canada, to use the title of an exhibition at Canadian Museum of Civilization … we are Vietnamese Boat People: No Longer,” she said. “Many of us became engineers, computer programmers, medical doctors, dentists, pharmacists, professors, teachers and business people.”

It's a really good story about Vietnamese immigrants coming to Canada in the last 70s and early 80s with nothing and making a life for themselves.

Although the attitude in last quote in the article has always bothered me.

“In Canada, to use the title of an exhibition at Canadian Museum of Civilization … we are Vietnamese Boat People: No Longer,” she said. “Many of us became engineers, computer programmers, medical doctors, dentists, pharmacists, professors, teachers and business people.”

Vietnamese Boat People: No Longer bothers me. No matter how successful you become you're always a boat person. It is part of your identity and your bravery for escaping the ruthless communist regime.

Secondly, why it it always just engineers, computer programmers, medical doctors, dentists, pharmacists, professors, teachers and business people? I've never liked this elitist attitude. People who are these professionals often thumb their noses at the same boat people who aren't as successful, even people on the same boat. Obviously this isn't the case here as this lady has used her position to help other refugees to come to Canada. However I still don't like the quote.


There are just as many successful mechanics, restaurant owners, jewelers, electricians, welders, home designers/carpenters etc etc.

And if you are not aware of how boat people escaped Vietnam. Here's the late Ed Bradley's report on the boat people in 1979.


Youtube Link

Soccer: Iraq Eliminated

Tsk tsk tsk. Iraq got all the help it needed and still couldn't make the semifinals.

Spain defeated South Africa 2-0 which meant Iraq simply had to beat New Zealand to qualify. New Zealand SUCK. But Apparently Iraq aren't good enough to beat them.

Both Iraq and NZ go out of the competition without scoring a goal!


Youtube Link

The NZ keeper saving with his face was pretty cool :P

Colour My Ball

If I played golf this would be my ball :)

Source: Daily Yomiuri

Though pristine white golf balls have been de rigueur since time immemorial, professional and amateur golfers alike are increasingly turning to colored balls in a bid to enhance their fashion credentials--and their score cards.

Earlier this month, Bic Camera Inc.'s Yurakucho store in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, set up a colored golf ball section within its golfing goods department.

"More than half our female customers choose colored balls, and many people are buying them as a present," a store official said. The official went on to say that many people see the white balls as somewhat formal, and as a result, many beginners opt for the more vibrant sporting spheres.

According to a survey by major golf-goods maker Bridgestone Sports Co., 32 percent of amateur golfers said they had used colored balls in 2007, while this figure increased to 39 percent for 2008.

This trend was especially marked among female amateur golfers, with 75 percent of female respondents saying they had been teeing off with the more vivid balls in 2008--an increase of 65 percent from 2007.

Reasons cited for using the norm-bucking product include ease of distinction from others' balls and quick detection after having sliced into the rough.

While there are rules governing the size and aerodynamics of standard golf balls, there are no stipulations regarding color. Though colored balls appeared on the market in the 1980s, they proved no more than a novelty hit due to limited painting techniques and generally low quality.

However, thanks to recent advances in manufacturing techniques, makers can now produce colored golf balls on a par with their paler spherical cousins--a fact that has helped boost the popularity of the eye-catching orbs.

Professional golfers, too, are bringing a splash of color to the fairways. Shigeki Maruyama, who used a yellow ball for the season's opening domestic tour, said, "It's easy to visualize and follow the trajectory [of colored balls]"

Golfers already wear colourful clothes and still wear plaid and funny hats. Might as well have coloured balls. I know on the LPGA Paula Creamer used a pink golf ball. In fact she wear all pink on Sundays. We all know Tiger Woods wears red on Sundays. Perhaps he should start using a red ball!

Geisha’s Dice for iPhone and iPodTouch

Source: Tokyo Digital News

Geisha's DICE is a very simple dice game. The Geisha dealer faces one to about 10 players from behind the tatami table.


Youtube Link


Youtube Link

Looks like a pretty cool game.

I wonder if it could match the greatest movie scene ever involving dice :D


Youtube Link

Blood: The Last Vampire Is A Bust

Source: Korea Herald

Despite Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun's efforts to prove her acting ability, her latest film is proving a box-office flop.

"Blood: The Last Vampire," Jun's Hollywood debut film, which was released at local theaters on June 11, has drawn around 70,000 viewers through June 20, Korea Film Council said yesterday.

The figures are far behind its competitors, such as Korean flick "Running Turtle (Geobugi dalinda)," which has drawn more than 550,000 since opening on the same day.

With hotly anticipated movies such as "Haeundae" and "Transformers 2: The Revenge of the Fallen" on their way, the prospects for "Blood" look grim.

It is quite a tough situation for Jun, who has not had a real box-office hit since "My Sassy Girl (2001)" and faces criticism that her main job is modeling for TV commercials.

Critics cited Jun's failure to deliver the complicated emotions of her character, Saya, as one of the major reasons for the film's failure.

The loose plot which largely differed from the original Japanese animation that the film is based on and the poor computer graphics are also cited as reasons for the film's lack of appeal.

Here's the official site and trailer.

Can't say I'm impressed with the trailer. Not a movie I would race to the theatre to see.

Let's Hire a Girlfriend Every Sunday!

Source: Thanh Nien

Hong hangs out with him every Sunday, meets his friends, listens to his tales of happiness and woe, and even cooks for him sometimes if he wants, but they never make love.

The garment factory worker is an occasional escort who gets paid VND300,000-500,000 (US$17-28) for playing girlfriend for half a day or a full day.

More middle-aged men in Ho Chi Minh City feel lonely and stressed out from work these days and want a girl to go out with, and tell their troubles to, with no strings attached.

Their loneliness has given birth to what is a new service in Vietnam whereby a man hires a girl to be his “lover for a day.” Most of the chaste escorts have moved to the city from the Mekong Delta countryside to work in the factories.

For Hong, it started out by accident when a co-worker told her about a cousin, a forty-something businessman with no emotional ties who just wanted a girl beside him on Sundays.

The first time they met, the businessman told Hong he needed a girl to accompany him sometimes when he met his friends or went to the café on Sundays. Aside from that, they would have nothing to do with each other.

“He made it clear that he needed a tender girl to listen to him, and no sex,” said Hong, who comes from An Giang Province and works in Tan Tao Industrial Park in Binh Tan District.

Even with overtime, she makes VND1.5 million a month at most from her factory job.

“I lose nothing working as a girlfriend. All I have to do is go out with him and listen to him, and I get money. It helps that he’s an educated and kind man.”

The extra job allows Hong to send more money home while the man was, and still is, happy to have someone to talk to about his work, sometimes his family troubles, and feel proud to have a pretty and well-behaved girl of his own to introduce to his friends.

Some of these friends were quick to catch on and asked Hong to introduce her co-workers to be their “girlfriends.”

.....more

VND1.5 million is $100 US.

I think it's a pretty cute idea. Some men just need a companion to talk to, to discuss his troubles inlife. I don't like the part where he needs a girl to meet friends. They're his friends and they wouldn't think any less of him if he didn't have a gf. His friends are probably single too since single guys hang out together.

Could this work? If the guy is successful and she talks to him every Sunday, wouldn't they get closer and closer. Eventually there would have to be some feelings right?

If you're a guy, would you pay to be in the friend's zone!?

Asian Ripoff LXVII - Smoke On The Water

Artist: No idea. I think this group was put together for charity.
Language: Japanese

Love it! More classic songs should be done with Japanese or Chinese instruments :)


Youtube Link

Soccer: Spain-Iraq

Source: FIFA

Iraq held their own against European Champions Spain but lost 1-0. This is a good result as they are still in the hunt for a semi-final berth.

South Africa beat New Zealand 2-0. So now Iraq needs to beat New Zealand by more than 2 goals (shouldn't be a problem, New Zeland absolutely suck)and South Africa need to lose to Spain (possible)

Here are the highlights:

Youtube Link

World's oldest man dies at 113 in Japan

Source: Yahoo!

The world's oldest man, Tomoji Tanabe, died at his home in southern Japan on Friday at the age of 113, according to a local official.

Tanabe, who suffered from a chronic heart problem, passed away with his relatives at his bedside, said an official at Miyakonojo City, where he lived.

"Mr Tanabe was a symbol of Miyakonojo... and cheered up many residents," making the town a byword for longevity, said Mayor Makoto Nagamine.

When Tanabe turned 113 on September 18, he said the secret to his longevity was a big appetite but a strict diet, together with avoiding alcohol, cigarettes and snacks.

Tanabe, who lived with a son and daughter-in-law, had eight children, 25 grandchildren, 53 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.

Japan has one of the world's highest life expectancy rates, attributed in part to a diet traditionally rich in fish, rice and vegetables.

The world's oldest known person is 115-year-old Gertrude Baines who lives in Los Angeles.

That pretty cool to live in 3 different centuries! I dont think I have a chance, I'd have to live past 120 :P

Thai and Lao Food: Tangy and Hot

Source: NY Times

IT is a long way, Kwan Bellhouse said last week, from planting rice in her parents’ paddies in northeastern Thailand to roasting it in Kwan Thai, her small restaurant here in Rockland County.

“Only the smell is the same,” she said, as the raw grains turned from starched white to dark brown, and the lime leaves and lemon grass fronds she added to the kata (a wood-handled wok) curled and singed. The roasted rice and herbs would be ground into a smoky, nutty powder that gives depth to her larb gai, a dish of chopped chicken, mint, basil and red onions dressed with lime juice and ground red chilies. (The dish is sometimes spelled laab, lob or lop.)

“We never get tired of eating larb, 24 hours a day,” she said. Ms. Bellhouse’s “we” refers to the people of Isan, a rural section of Thailand where she grew up, and where her parents still grow purple, jasmine and sticky varieties of rice.

Isan borders on Laos, and regardless of modern political boundaries, the people of the region have traditionally shared a language, a climate (hot, steamy) and a love for two foods: larb and green papaya salad, made from the crisp, pale green flesh of unripe papayas mixed with garlic, lime juice, tomatoes and chilies.

.....more

I've never tried Thai food! I'm afraid it's too hot and my tongue doesn't handle spices well. I might try to make it, with less spices but then it probably won't be as good.

Here are the recipies.

Chicken With Lime, Chili and Fresh Herbs (Larb Gai)

Green Papaya Salad (Som Tum)

China detains 40 over exam cheating: state media

Source: Yahoo!

Chinese police have detained 40 people in multiple cases of alleged high-tech cheating on the country's make-or-break university entrance exams, state media reported.

In north Shanxi province, six people were detained for allegedly selling receivers to students so they could be fed the correct answers during the June 7-9 tests, the Xinhua news agency said late Sunday.

The detainees included four students and one middle school teacher, according to the agency.

In northeastern Jilin province, a total of 34 suspects have been detained for trying to cheat during the exams, Xinhua said.

It was not immediately clear if the suspects had been charged, or what the charges would be.

Ten million students sat for the highly competitive exams, which are considered crucial for Chinese families, as they can determine whether a student enters the country's educated elite or joins the general work force.

Authorities this year announced stepped-up efforts to crack down on cheating after more than 1,000 applicants were caught cheating on China's civil servant exams, with some using earpieces and wireless transmitters.

As mentioned in the last post, there's an immense amount of pressure for youths to succeed in China. One test at the end of high school makes or breaks your life.

You pass the test you become a somebody and go to a good school. You fail the test, you're on the manufacturing line forever.

Man, 96, graduates on same day as grandson

Source: Ananova

A 96-year-old Taiwanese man who enrolled for university to set an example for his grandson has graduated with a master's degree.

Chao Muhe, 96, and grandson Zhao Shuangzhan, 32, graduated on the same day, reports IC Media.

Chao, a retired university teacher, said he started his university studies again six years ago when his grandson was set to enroll for university.

"He didn’t work hard at all. So to set a good example for him, I told him I am to apply for university studies with him," said Chao.

He received his master’s degree in philosophy from the University of South China in southern Taiwan, while his grandson graduated from Chung Hua University.

Chao, better known to his classmates as Grandpa Chao, said he had also needed a new interest after being told he was too old to continue as a volunteer at a local hospital.

And he never missed a class - despite needing to get up at 5am each day to catch several buses to get to university.

And although he was more than 70 years older than his classmates, he says he did not feel out of place.

"We are good friends," said Chao, but added that he often had to study until 2am or even 3am to keep up with his younger classmates.

Grandpa Chao’s thesis tutor, Chen Dezhi, said his thirst for knowledge was an inspiration to the other students.

That's really cool. However it's much easier to study and graduate when you're 96 cause there's no pressure! For everyone else who's 18 there's alot of pressure. You whole future depends on graduating. If I don't graduate i'll never get a good job, parents want me to get straight A's, I'm dating this great guy and if I don't graduate he'll dump me cause I'm dumb etc....very stressful!

At 96 if he doesn't graduate then... nothing, he just goes back to being 96. He's already accomplished everything. It's easier to succeed when nothing is on the line.

But he's really nice for him to help his grandson. Graduate at 32? He must have been slacking off all those years.

North Korea Qualify for 2010 World Cup

Source: FIFA

Korea DPR will return to the FIFA World Cup™ next year for the first time since 1966. Kim Jong Hun's side sealed their second trip to the global finals with a goalless draw in Saudi Arabia, who finished third in Group 2 and will now go into an Asian Zone play-off from which the winners will face New Zealand for a place at South Africa 2010.

The Saudis' opponents will be Bahrain, who beat Uzbekistan 1-0 at home to claim third place in Group 1. However, there was agony for Iran, whose hopes of a fourth FIFA World Cup appearance ended in a 1-1 draw with the already-qualified Korea Republic.

.....more

North Koreans are back in the World Cup! The last and only time they were in the World Cup in 1996 in England they shocked the world by knocking out Italy in the gorup stages and took a 3-0 lead in 20 minutes against Portugal in the quarterfinals only to lose 5-3.

North Korea joins neighbours South Korea, Australia and Japan as the four automatics Asian qualifiers.

Here's are the highlights of today's match. North Korea survived wave after wave of attacks and held on for the draw they needed to qualify.


Youtube Link

There was a documentary called The Game of Their Lives about that 1966 team.


Youtube Link

Teaching Bus Passengers Driving Safety Laws

Source: Xinjiang - Far West China

Here are some really entertaining traffic signs in Xinjiang! They're very cute!

Yield for Safety's Sake

Don't Drive Tired

Exceeding the Speed Limit is Dangerous

Slow Down Around Corners

Don't Exceed Seating Capacity

Driving after Drinking is Strictly Forbidden

Choose the Correct Lane

Men-only train cars sought in groping fears

Source: Reuters

Many women taking the crowded train in Tokyo opt for women-only carriages during the rush hour to avoid gropers.

Now, for fear of being accused of groping, some are asking for carriages reserved for men as well.

Ten shareholders of Seibu Holdings, which runs trains in the Tokyo area, have petitioned for carriages reserved for men.

"There have been many cases of groping, as well as false charges of groping, on Seibu Railway," the shareholders said in a notice seeking a vote at the company's annual meeting next Wednesday.

"While measures against groping, such as setting women-only carriages, have been effective to a certain extent, no measures have been taken against false charges of groping... In the spirit of gender-equality, a male-only carriage must be introduced."

False accusations of groping were highlighted when Japan's Supreme Court overturned in April the conviction of a professor for groping a girl on a Tokyo train.

Judges pointed out a need to be careful in such cases when the accuser was the only source of evidence, media said.

But the shareholder request for men's carriages may not be implemented, as Seibu's board of directors opposes the idea.

"The reality is that we have few requests from Seibu Railway users for setting up male-only carriages," the board said in its reply to the shareholder request.

In Tokyo, around 2,000 people were arrested for groping in 2007, data from the police showed. Many crowded train lines, including Seibu lines, designate a carriage just for women during the rush hour.

Seems fair enough. If women keep falsely accusing men of groping them and the legal system doesn't protect them, then this is the only solution.

There are lots of cases and even a movie called I Just Didn't Do It that documents the problem of false accusations. The character in the movie goes through living hell as he tries to prove his innocence. In Japan, you're often guilty until proven innocent in these cases and you often are forced into a confession in order to get a lesser sentence even if you didn't do it.

I wonder if men will start falsely accusing other men of groping them on men-only trains? Then what? :)

TV Show: Beautiful Cooking 2

Wikipedia


Was surfing the other day and bumped into Beautiful Cooking II, a HK TVB show. Looks like this is like Iron Chef but with pretty girls cooking.



Youtube Link

They seemed impressed with her!

Soccer: South Africa-Iraq

A bit late on this cause I couldn't find a good highlight package.
Decent opening game from two not very decent teams. Iraq looks comfortable in the 1st half and South Africa dominated the 2nd half. Everyone is talking about the incredible miss from South Africa when the player cleared off the line from his own players shot.
However if you look closely the shot header was going across the goal and going wide.


Youtube Link

So in the end a 0-0 draw which keeps both teams still alive for a semifinal spot. It'll probably come down to goal difference unless one of these teams somehow doesn't lose to Spain or messed up again New Zealand. So whoever loses to Spain the least or beat New Zeland by the most will qualify.

And if you're wonder what the buzzing beehive noise is in the crowd is the South African Vuvuzela horn! Get 40000 of those horns in a stadium and that what it sounds like!

It's incredible how they can dance and blow for the entire 90 minutes! Get used to that sound cause you'll have to hear it next year at the World Cup, Most people think it's annoying. i'm getting used to it and liking it alot. Brings a unique atmosphere to the event which will be in Africa for probably the only time.

The next round of matches are on Wednesday June 17 (today).

Asian Ripoff LXVI - Moon River

Artist: Tata Young
Language: Thai

I like this version alot :)


Youtube Link

U.S. Births Hint at Bias for Boys in Some Asians

Source: New York Times

The trend is buried deep in United States census data: seemingly minute deviations in the proportion of boys and girls born to Americans of Chinese, Indian and Korean descent.

In those families, if the first child was a girl, it was more likely that a second child would be a boy, according to recent studies of census data. If the first two children were girls, it was even more likely that a third child would be male.

Demographers say the statistical deviation among Asian-American families is significant, and they believe it reflects not only a preference for male children, but a growing tendency for these families to embrace sex-selection techniques, like in vitro fertilization and sperm sorting, or abortion.

New immigrants typically transplant some of their customs and culture to the United States — from tastes in food and child-rearing practices to their emphasis on education and the elevated social and economic status of males. The appeal to immigrants by clinics specializing in sex selection caused some controversy a decade ago.

But a number of experts expressed surprise to see evidence that the preference for sons among Asian-Americans has been so significantly carried over to this country. “That this is going on in the United States — people were blown away by this,” said Prof. Lena Edlund of Columbia University.

.....more

Woah woah woah woah... excuse me? New immigrants typically transplant some of their customs and culture to the United States — from tastes in food and child-rearing practices to their emphasis on education and the elevated social and economic status of males but EXPERTS are surprised that Asians prefering boys over girls has carried over? That's the most important one! If people are going to carry on eating rice and praying at the altar then they certainly are carrying on the custom of having boys. If you have no boy, who's going to pray at the altar!? Experts can be so dumb sometimes.

Chinese waitress walks free after killing official

Source: Google

A Chinese waitress convicted of killing an official who demanded sex walked free from court Tuesday, after a nationwide Internet campaign hailed her as a heroine for standing up to government sleaze.

In a case that sparked widespread outrage, Deng Yujiao, 21, was put on trial for stabbing to death a local official in central China in May, in what she said was self-defence after he tried to force himself on her sexually.

Deng, a waitress at a hotel in the city of Badong, was initially detained on suspicion of murder after the incident, in which she said the man hit her repeatedly after she refused his advances.

She also stood accused of injuring a second official who had made unwanted sexual advances.

Deng was eventually charged with the lesser offence of intentional assault -- still punishable by death, according to the China Daily -- as officials caved in to the massive public pressure generated on the Internet.

Internet users fed up with government corruption, abuse of power and official impunity quickly rallied to Deng's cause, and her case became a symbol of injustice in a society tightly controlled by the ruling Communist Party.

On Tuesday, after a brief trial in Badong in Hubei province, Deng walked free despite being found guilty as charged, on the grounds of diminished responsibility, a judge at the court, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

The judge said the court had decided not to punish her as she had used excessive force in an act of self-defence, she had surrendered to the police, and the officials involved in the incident had made a "major mistake."

.....more

Woohoo. A victory for the commoner! Funny how she's guilty but won't get any jail time. So what's she guilty of? The Chinese are so afraid to be embarassed that they will appeased anyone in fear of a revolt.

I wonder how she'll be be treated from now on. Will she go back to waitressing?

Related: Chinese public outraged over case of Deng Yujiao

Reporters 'admit' N Korea entry

Source: BBC

Two US journalists who were jailed last week in North Korea have admitted entering the country illegally, according to state news agency KCNA.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee "admitted and accepted" their sentences, KCNA said.

The two women were given jail terms of 12 years' hard labour, after being found guilty of crossing into North Korea from the Chinese border in March.

KCNA also said they had admitted getting footage for a "smear campaign" about North Korea's human rights.

The women's families have always claimed that Lee, 36, and Ling, 32, had no intention of crossing into North Korea.

They fear the two reporters may become political pawns in negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang, amid growing tensions over North Korea's nuclear programme and recent missile tests.

.....more

Not much argument anymore now is there? Two people illegally going into a country where everything in censored in order to run a smear campaign? What was this TV station trying to prove putting two reporters lives in jeopardy for a story that no one really cares about. Did they think this was ground-breaking journalism that would win some award? Countless South Korea, Chinese and Japanese citizens have been kidnapped without a trace. Nothing their governments could do about it. Those families just suffer.

If you or I run into North Korea, would the Canadian government save our ass? Just because they're reporters doesn't make them anymore important and the US is going to compromise their entire North Korea stretegy to save them.

Enough with the cries that they were kidnapped. They were not. They were arrested under the law, however asinine that law is. They're as good as dead. I do feel for them and their families. They just happened to be working for a moron, such is life. It about time the media got a wake up call and figure out they have to be very careful and can't be sticking there nose where it's not wanted.

OOPS! Obama is lost!

Doesn't Obama know the directions in his own house? South Korean President Lee Myung-bak keeps having to correct him :)

China city kills 36,000 dogs after rabies deaths

Source: Reuters

A Chinese city has killed 36,000 stray and pet dogs in a bid to wipe out rabies, state media said on Tuesday, as the country considers a draft law recognising animal rights and making such a cull illegal.

Rabies has killed 12 people in Hanzhong, in the northern province of Shaanxi, where more than 6,000 people had been bitten or scratched since late May, the China Daily said.

"The monitoring data showed that the danger caused by the dogs which carried rabies virus has increased and epidemic prevention and control is urgent," Xing Tianhu, deputy mayor of the city, was quoted as saying.

International animal rights groups have criticised China for cruelty, saying millions of animals raised for their pelts, including cats and dogs, are mistreated and inhumanely killed.

Raising dogs was banned under the rule of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong as a bourgeois pastime and was only made legal a few years ago as living standards rose.

Animal protection organisations expressed concern over the Hanzhong cull.

"The mass removal of dogs can result in the increased movement of dogs of unknown disease status from surrounding areas, thereby actually facilitating disease transmission and increasing the threat to human and animal health," Peter Williams, China director for the World Society for Protection of Animals, was quoted as saying.

China's first law to recognise "animal welfare" and include domestic animals is in the draft stage.

"Once it gets passed, the abuses of animals, such as the Hanzhong dog killings, is expected to stop," Chang Jiwen, a professor who led the drafting team, was quoted as saying.

Biting more than 6000 people? I think the problem here is that having dogs is a new thing in China and people don't know how to train them properly yet. In my neighbourhood there are alot of dogs and I pet them all the time. They know who I am now and don't bite. Dogs just want to be loved and are definitely spoiled in North America.

But in China, dogs are running around, eating shit out of gutters and biting anyone who comes near them. I don't know if killing 36000 dogs is the solution but unless people learn how to raise dogs, this problem will continue.

Black clouds turn Beijing day into night

Source: The Guardian

At midday in Beijing today the sky turned black as midnight, as one of the most spectacular storms in recent memory struck the Chinese capital.

Thunder clouds blocked the sun from 11am, forcing the authorities to turn on streetlamps, offices to blaze with fluorescent lights and cars to drive with their headlights on.

During the darkest period, around 11.20am, office cooler, classroom, Twitter and Facebook gossip turned apocalyptic with many half-jokingly prophesying the end of the world and new weather weapons, while others wondered publicly about a secret solar eclipse or the death of the sun.

For a small handful, the portents of doom came true. Local media reported seven people were fatally struck by lightning as the storms swept across north-east China. Weather forecasters said it was extremely rare for such ferocious weather to hit the country at this time of year.

The storm passed within an hour with little apparent damage. But for a small handful, the portents of doom came true. Local media reported seven people were fatally struck by lightning as the storms swept across north-east China.

Speculation inevitably centred on the government's weather modification programme, which has been ramped up in recent years to offset droughts by seeding clouds.

Eh...shrug.... it's just a storm. Haven't the Chinese ever seen dark clouds roll in

I used to work on the 28th floor in downtown Calgary and in the summer sometimes a sunny day would be interrupted by DARK clouds and a tremendous thunderstorm. The building would even shake a little. All part living in the foothills and witnessing the famous chinook :)

More On The Herbivore's Dilemma

Source: Slate

Earlier I had posted about Japanese Herbivore Men.

Ryoma Igarashi likes going for long drives through the mountains, taking photographs of Buddhist temples and exploring old neighborhoods. He's just taken up gardening, growing radishes in a planter in his apartment. Until recently, Igarashi, a 27-year-old Japanese television presenter, would have been considered effeminate, even gay. Japanese men have long been expected to live like characters on Mad Men, chasing secretaries, drinking with the boys, and splurging on watches, golf, and new cars.

Today, Igarashi has a new identity (and plenty of company among young Japanese men) as one of the soushoku danshi—literally translated, "grass-eating boys." Named for their lack of interest in sex and their preference for quieter, less competitive lives, Japan's "herbivores" are provoking a national debate about how the country's economic stagnation since the early 1990s has altered men's behavior.

In this age of bromance and metrosexuals, why all the fuss? The short answer is that grass-eating men are alarming because they are the nexus between two of the biggest challenges facing Japanese society: the declining birth rate and anemic consumption. Herbivores represent an unspoken rebellion against many of the masculine, materialist values associated with Japan's 1980s bubble economy. Media Shakers, a consulting company that is a subsidiary of Dentsu, the country's largest advertising agency, estimates that 60 percent of men in their early 20s and at least 42 percent of men aged 23 to 34 consider themselves grass-eating men. Partner Agent, a Japanese dating agency, found in a survey that 61 percent of unmarried men in their 30s identified themselves as herbivores. Of the 1,000 single men in their 20s and 30s polled by Lifenet, a Japanese life-insurance company, 75 percent described themselves as grass-eating men.

.....more

Seriously this is a big problem.. what are Japanese interested in if they're not interested in making money or sex? Do they just want anime pillows to suck on?

"I spent the night at one guy's house, and nothing happened—we just went to sleep!" moaned one incredulous woman on a TV program devoted to herbivores. "It's like something's missing with them," said Yoko Yatsu, a 34-year-old housewife, in an interview. "If they were more normal, they'd be more interested in women. They'd at least want to talk to women."

She's pretty lucky he let her in the house to visit. Girls usually don't get past the front door.

How did the 'samurai' become a timid, shy uncomfortable guy? They are simply in their own world and can't even have a conversation with a girl. Being shy and introverted is one thing but everyone should have some wit and be able to chat with anyone right?

I can see why this is unacceptable. Japan has certain standards to maintain, and part of that involves savagely boning secretaries, drinking imported scotch, and buying ugly Rolexes!

So if you like Japanese women. Time for manly foreign guys to step up to the "horny and frustrated Japanese women" challenge! :D

What's the worst that can happen? These guys going to get mad and beat you up?

Asian Ripoff LXV - Hymne à L'Amour

Artist: Minako Honda
Language: Japanese

France's most famous song ever gets re-done by the delightful Minako Honda. Pretty good rendition I think. I love the piano solo :)

Voice could be a bit stronger but it's impossible to match the legendary Edith Piaf.


Youtube Link

Electric Bikes Are Swarming

Source: TIME

Of all the things that have changed in China over the past 30 years, transportation has undergone one of the most obvious of transformations. Where city streets once swarmed with bicycles, they are now full of automobiles. Cars clog intersection and expressways. Their exhaust clouds the sky and the air is full of the sound of horns. But zipping through the congestion is the vanguard of another transportation revolution: vehicles that use no gas, emit no exhaust and are so quiet they can surprise the unwary pedestrian.

In China, electric bicycles are leaving cars in the dust. Last year, Chinese bought 21 million e-bikes, compared with 9.4 million autos. While China now has about 25 million cars on the road, it has four times as many e-bikes. Thanks to government encouragement and a population well versed in riding two wheels to work, the country has become the world's leading market for the cheap, green vehicles, helping to offset some of the harmful effects of the country's automobile boom. Indeed, as engineers around the world scramble to create eco-friendly, plug-in electric cars, China is already ahead of the game. Says Frank Jamerson, a former GM engineer turned electric-vehicle analyst: "What's happening in China is sort of a clue to what the future will be."

.....more

That's fine in China when you're going 2 miles an hour. Don't think that would work in Canada. I don't want to be on a electric bicycle when it's -40 degrees!

Cool idea though, anything to save gas. More gas for me!

Chinese man Banned from selling Teenage Girl’s Spit

Source: The Inquisitr

This one comes straight out of the “WTF,” “You can’t make this up” and “EEWWW!” departments…

A Chinese man has been banned from selling the saliva of pretty teenage girls as a tonic on the Chinese equivalent of Ebay.

Chinese auction site, Taobao.com, has removed listings of the teen girl saliva tonic from it’s site after numerous complaints from it’s users. The offending retailer, Zhou, claimed the drool was a tonic and was asking about $3.25 for a small bottle that included a photo of the girl who produced the saliva. Zhou said the saliva was collected from 18-year-old girls while they slept.

He also said the listings were just a test to see if there was a demand for the product. Sad thing is, there was enough of a demand and he is planning on going ahead with marketing the product online.

Why is everything in China a tonic or an aphrodisiac? Do all the men there just want to live forever and bone vigorously?

Boy not allowed to get life-saving transplant in Japan

Source: CNN

Eleven-year-old Hiroki Ando will likely die if he does not get a new heart.

Hiroki suffers from cardiomyopathy, which inflames and impairs the heart. The same disease killed his sister five years ago.

"We have two children in our family who got a disease that happens one out of every 100,000 people. I am sorry for my children. We are having my daughter and Hiroki going through this harsh experience," said father Ryuki Ando.

"We were told by his doctor at the end of last year that the heart transplant operation was the only way for him to survive," Ando said.

But the law in Japan prohibits anyone under the age of 15 from donating organs -- meaning Hiroki can't get a new heart in his home country.

According to the web site for Japan Transplant Network, a non-governmental group that supports changing Japan's transplant law, "this stipulation has greatly reduced the possibility of transplants to small children; heart transplants to small children have become impossible."

.....more

I wonder why 15 is the age-limit? I'm sure in Japan kids under 15 die in accidents or disease. Why not have them be able to transplant their heart to save someone else?

New wave of 'history girls' wooed by warlords' masculinity

We are the real manly Japanese men!

Source: Mainichi

Young women are flocking to significant landmarks from the Warring States period, and college girls are buying up samurai-themed products. Sales of historical books are up, and there have been efforts to revive the publication of paperbacks on warlords. Behind this craze is the surge in "reki-jo" or "history girls." But why now?

On weekends, Jidai Shobo, a bookstore specializing in historical books in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, is packed with groups of young women. Most of the shop's customers were men when it first opened in February 2006, but by last year, half were women, of which around 90 percent are in their 20s and 30s.

Stationery and mobile phone accessories with family crests of feudal lords line the shelves, with figurines of Sanada Yukimura, the most popular of the warlords, and others also for sale. "I like Kato Kiyomasa," says customer Izumi Sekine, 34, of a warlord who served the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. "There's an almost picture-perfect masculinity about him."

In August 2008, the Kojuro Plaza opened in the city of Shiroishi in Miyagi Prefecture, home of Katakura Kojuro, a senior retainer of the 17th century warlord Date Masamune. Sales of Kojuro-related goods subsequently exceeded 100,000 yen on some days. Visitors to Shiroishi Castle during the week-long holiday in May jumped to 135 percent compared to the previous year, and most recent visitors have been young women, according to city officials. The tourist center in Ueda, Sanada Yukimura's hometown in Nagano Prefecture, has also enjoyed a jump in sales.

.....more

Girls want the macho man! They want the Samuari Underwear!

Girls are tired of men like these!

Iraqi team a beacon of hope

Source: CBC

Even the most creative and talented screenwriter couldn't have written a script this compelling about the indomitable strength of the human spirit, the ability to overcome adversity in the most dire of circumstances, and the unifying power of sport.

It's a story tailor-made for Hollywood and the silver screen, but one that played out in real life on a lush, green soccer field in Jakarta

It was two years ago that the Iraqi national side — a team of Sunni, Shia and Kurdish players psychologically scarred by the daily chaos and ravages of the war raging back home — pulled off a major surprise when it upset powerhouse Saudi Arabia in the final of the Asian Cup in Indonesia.

Now, the Iraqis are attempting to shock the soccer world once more, this time in South Africa, when they compete at the FIFA Confederations Cup this month.

And not only can the reigning Asian champions count on the backing of supporters in Iraq, but also soccer fans all across the Middle East.

Shia, Sunni and Kurds come together

"Obviously the story is incredibly romantic about how a team of Shia, Sunni and Kurdish players all came together. It was a very proud nationalistic statement, but people from all over the Middle East got behind them because they were homeless," Montague explained.

"They could not play any matches or even train for a long while in Baghdad, so they lived this sort of nomadic existence where they would play matches and train in Oman, Jordan and Syria, and Dubai.

"And so there is this real sense that they represent the Middle East."

The Iraqis' victory in 2007 was all the more amazing when you consider that death, war, and attempts on their lives were are all things that they dealt with on a daily basis.

"A lot of the players were under threat of kidnap or assassination," explained Montague. "On the one hand, you had players who played abroad in Qatar, so they were worth money to their families, and they became targets of criminals and extortion.

"Terrorist groups would also target players because their victory was a nationalistic symbol; it was a unifying force, which both al-Qaeda and more separatist Shia elements and Kurdish elements were against."

Having already been eliminated from qualifying contention for the 2010 World Cup, Iraq is turning its focus to the Confederations Cup, and the belief is that the Asian champions can beat out hosts South Africa and New Zealand for second place behind Spain in Group A, thus booking a spot in the tournament semifinals.

.....more

The Confederations Cup starts Sunday with South Africa hosting Iraq in the opening match. The tournament has 8 teams, the 6 continent winners, Iraq, New Zealand, Egypt, USA, Spain and Brazil along with Italy the World Champions and South Africa the hosts. It's a tune-up tournament for the 2010 World Cup.

In the US all matches can be seen on ESPN2. In Canada some matches can be seen on CBC and some on some weird digital channel and the rest on internet. It's pretty messed up.

I'm looking forward to this tournament cause it usually has alot of goals. It's not life and death and teams like to experiment. I'll be cheering for Iraq to make the semifinals.

Here's video of Iraq's wonderful Asian Cup win in 2007 that qualified them for this tournament.


Youtube Link

Ahmadinejad wins! Sparks Protests!

Source: CNN

As street protests and voter skepticism rose over Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election victory, the incumbent leader hailed the vote, saying it was a "great ordeal" but one that pointed "the way to the future."

"The people of Iran inspired hope for all nations and created a source of pride in the nation and disappointed all the ill wishers," Ahmadinejad said in a nationwide TV address Saturday night. "This election was held at a juncture of history."

The government said on Saturday that Ahmadinejad won Friday's presidential election with 62.63 percent of the vote and Mir Hossein Moussavi received 33.75 percent of the vote.

But while he extolled the result and the huge turnout, Moussavi and supporters in the Tehran streets are crying foul as street clashes have erupted in the aftermath of the polls. Reaction emerged across the world, as countries such as the United States and Canada voiced concern over claims of voter irregularities.

The ongoing street protests have been viewed as remarkable in a country where anti-government sentiment is not looked upon kindly by those in power. In the aftermath of the vote, street protesters and riot police engaged in running battles, with stones thrown, garbage cans set on fire and people shouting "death to the dictatorship."

.....more

That's quite a riot! Almost Stanley Cup proportions!

Betty Nguyen: Help The Hungry

CNN's Betty Nguyen receives Time Warner's Andrew Heiskell Service Award for outstanding volunteer achievement through her foundation Help The Hungry.

Source: CNN

Still sad to see how poor the Vietnamese are in the countryside 30+ years after the war.

Pay Me! I'll Go To Your Wedding!

Hello Kitty are also considered fake guests!

Source: Telegraph

Office Agents, a Tokyo-based company, is renting out fake friends, colleagues and family members to help pad out the guest list at events such as weddings.

For £127 (Y20,000), an agent will attend a wedding as a guest. They deliver a heart-tugging speech for cost an extra £64 (Y10,000) and a song or dance will set clients back a mere £32 (Y5,000).

Brides or grooms who are concerned that they do not have enough friends and want to impress their prospective partners and in-laws are among those secretly boosting the guest list with fakers.

The recession has further boosted the popularity of the service. With a growing number of Japanese employed in part time jobs, many requests relate to renting phoney bosses or colleagues as wedding guests to disguise their new reduced work status.

In a country where loss of face is particularly painful, others turning to the company for fake work-related guests have recently lost their jobs but want to maintain an air of respectability, according to Hiroshi Mizutani, who heads Office Agents.

I'll go! Pay me and I can look pretty and be your friend :)

Seriously is this necessary? This whole loss of face thing has to end. There are some things that are out of ones control. Being poor, getting laid off, having less friends.

If you're getting married does it look bad that you have say 30 guests and your partner has 100 guests? Is that embarassing to your partner? I thought there was more to marriage than out-doing each other.

I'd rather have a small intimate wedding than one with fake people. The people I invite should probably know everyone else I invite :)

Don't Turn There! That's Wong Way!

Source: Press-Enterprise

Riverside officials have righted what many believe is a decades-old wrong.

For 48 years, "Wong Way" was the name on a short connector street near downtown Riverside.

Now, it is "Wong Street."

Regardless of whether it's way or street, the block is still named after the late George Wong, the last resident of Riverside's former Chinatown. Wong was believed to be 90 or older when he died in 1974, a holdout who never moved from his longtime home.

The former street name, unanimously approved by the Riverside City Council in 1961, appeared to be more of a joke than an honor, said current Riverside City Councilman Mike Gardner, who requested the street name change.

The former street name appeared to imply a "wrong way" while also disparaging Chinese immigrants with limited English skills, Gardner said. The double-entendre wasn't always appreciated.

"It's insensitive and it's a bad joke," said Jean Wong, a member of a citizen group opposed to development of the Chinatown site about block or two from Wong Street. She is not related to George Wong.

Gardner said he had met George Wong shortly before he died and had long thought the old street name didn't show proper respect.

"I wanted to go back and correct the insult," Gardner said.

A search of Google maps turned up four other streets named Wong Way -- in San Jose and San Bruno; in Bristol, Mass.; and New Brunswick, Canada.

I wonder if these street will have to be corrected as well. Since 1961 eh? Takes that long for people to change a frigging street name?

Sexy Samurai underwear raging in Japan

Source: examiner.com

Sexy Samurai underwear is the new rage in Japan. Tight underwear for men featuring patterns from actual Samurai warrior armor is proving to be a hit with women looking for presents for boyfriends and other men.

Interest in the civil wars of the 15th and 16th centuries is always high in Japan and this latest underwear crazes is capitalizing on this trend.

Rogin, a Tokyo apparel company has 10 kinds of Samurai underwear including those that resemble the designs worn by leaders Oda Nobunaga and Takeda Shingen.

The company is having a hard time keep Samurai underwear on store shelves, even though the price is near $90- $125 each.

A 25-year-old female shopper said she was thinking about buying a pair for her father.

‘‘They seem a bit showy but they’re cool,’’ she said.

The Samurai tights are hot at a time when many women are fascinated with samurai-related TV programs The game ‘‘Sengoku Basara’’ features fictitious good-looking samurai warriors which can't hurt.

Samurai underwear and french maid outfits would make a nice setting in the bedroom :)

Sea Otter Boogers? Whaaaat?

Source: Pink Tentacle

These delectable, sweet-tasting Sea Otter Boogers (rakko no hana-kuso) are available at zoo and aquarium gift shops across Japan. The ones shown here are from Kamogawa Sea World in Chiba prefecture.

The protein-packed booger snacks are actually made of amanattō, or candied black beans, and they are quite tasty if you can get over the name.

Priced at 525 yen (under $6) per 110-gram package, Sea Otter Boogers can also be purchased online via the Hanakuso web shop (shipping in Japan only), which also sells the ever-popular Gorilla Boogers.

For something that seems tasty and healthy, why would it be given the name boogers!?

Megan Fox wants to date Rain?

Source: AllKPop

Most of you already know that Rain / Bi fancies Megan Fox, but did you know that Megan Fox might also fancy Rain?

Megan Fox was on an Australian Radio Show titled "The Kyle and Jackie O Show" earlier today and was asked who she wanted to date next. Megan Fox responded with:

"There's this Korean Justin Timberlake named Rain. And I'm really on this situation right now, I'm trying to fix this up."


I don't know if it was in jest or not but Rain now knows that his dream girl knows who he is. A hookup would definitely accelerate his Hollywood career. Maybe she found out about him on her recent trip to Korea. She states that she's seen Rain with his shirt off and that it was very impressive.

Wow! If Rain savagely bones Megan Fox, Asian men will have nothing to complain about ever ever again. :)

You Can Hack Chinese Computers!

Source: BBC

Every PC in China could be at risk of being taken over by malicious hackers because of flaws in compulsory government software.

The potential faults were brought to light by Chinese computer experts who said the flaw could lead to a "large-scale disaster".

The Chinese government has mandated that all computers in the country must have the screening software installed.

It is intended to filter out offensive material from the net.

The Chinese government said that the Green Dam Youth Escort software, as it is known, was intended to push forward the "healthy development of the internet" and "effectively manage harmful material for the public and prevent it from being spread."

"We found a series of software flaws," explained Isaac Mao, a blogger and social entrepreneur in China, as well as a research fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society.

For example, he said, tests had shown that communications between the software and the servers at the company that developed the program were unencrypted.

.....more

Not a surprise. The criminals are always ahead of the government and police. The more the government wants to censor and peek into people's computer, the hackers an go that same route even faster!

CCTV anchor suspected of spying for Taiwan

Source: China.org

A veteran anchor with China Central Television (CCTV) is under suspicion of spying, sources revealed yesterday.

Fang Jing, the 38-year-old face of CCTV's prime-time military program Defense Watch, is being investigated for possibly spying for Taiwan, colleagues told China Daily.

The security authorities have neither confirmed nor denied the reports.

Fang, a Beijing native with a postgraduate degree, started hosting the program in 2006. Her last on-air appearance was on the Sunday edition on March 1 when she hosted an episode about India's military strength featuring Rear Admiral Zhang Zhaozhong, a military expert at the National Defense University.

Fang's segments often touch upon regional military topics and she compares China's military capacity with foreign powers, often with the help of specialists from the People's Liberation Army.

Zhang, who has been a frequent guest on the show, told China Daily last night that Fang's case is "still under investigation" and "no conclusion has been reached so far".

"She has not been jailed as is being rumored," Zhang said. "But she is not hosting the program anymore, because she is currently being investigated."

He confirmed that Fang quit after the March 1 edition.

Sources with CCTV also confirmed yesterday that Fang had been "taken away for a possible spy probe".

She was rumored to have been seduced by a man from Taiwan who was "eight years younger than her" and to have received money from him, the sources said.

She is SO screwed! It's one thing if she was sent in by Taiwan to spy for China from the start. But to start spying just because of a man? Incredible the things ladies will do for a shot at the ol' pork sword!

Steven Ho Shows Conan How To Get Hit

Stuntman Steven Ho was on The Tonight Show and shows Conan a few tricks of the trade. I always love how Conan is so sporadic and self depreciating in all of his skits and interviews.



Embed might not work at times so here's the link.

Bush Selling Herbal Tea!

George W. Bush lookalike Brent Mendenhall has been appearing in tea commercials on Japanese TV.

Thanks to @WatariGoro for the translations! :)


Youtube Link

Clerk: (Dept.) Chief...
Chief: Huh?
Clerk: Do you think the (business) proposal all right like this?
Chief: OK.. Farm!
Clerk: (stares, blankly)
Chief: (can't make out what he's trying to say. might just be, "What?", like he doesn't understand why she's just staring at him or may not even be in Japanese. The Bush-actor's pronunciation is really bad.) (Yeah what's NANCHATE!?)
Clerk: (continues to stare, blankly)

Text on the screen says: "Wash it away with our tea."
Narrator: Wash away stupidity with our tea...introducing the gentle herbal taste of our new Herbal Clear!


Youtube Link

Chief, staring at own reflection in mirror.
Clerk, staring at Dept. Chief.
Chief, staring at own reflection, more. Finally he says, "I do look like him...."

Text on the screen says: "Wash it away with our tea."
Narrator: Wash away stupidity with our tea...introducing the gentle herbal taste of our new Herbal Clear!


Youtube Link

At party.
Friend: Oh, that dress looks great!
Clerk: Thanks, I just bought it the other day. I like this kind of....(notices the elevator door opening and her Dept. Chief wearing a suit made with exact same pattern as her dress)

Chief: (points) You're wearing my pattern!

Text on the screen says: "Wash it away with our tea."
Narrator: Wash away stupidity with our tea...introducing the gentle herbal taste of our new Herbal Clear!

Asian Ripoff LXIV - My Sharona

Artist: Polysics
Language: Some form of Japanese


Youtube Link

ROCK ON!

Sexless 10 Years Not Enough for Divorce Cause

Source: Korea Times

A court rejected a divorce filing by a husband who never had sex with his wife during their 10 years of marriage, citing the wife's willingness to have normal sexual relations.

The couple, married in May 1999, attempted to have sex early on in the marriage but failed for a variety of reasons. Since then, they maintained a sexless relationship, according to the filing to the Seoul Family Court.

The unidentified husband, 37, told his parents in 2007 about their situation. After the disclosure, the relationship between his wife and his other family members turned sour.

In August 2007, the husband filed a divorce suit with the court, claiming his wife refused to have sex with him for no justifiable reason, and her lavish spending had worsened the family's financial condition.

However, the court said there was no evidence to prove that the sexless relationship was the wife's fault. ``It's true that the couple maintained a sexless relationship for a long time, but we found no evidence backing the husband's allegation that she refused to have sex without any justifiable reason.''

The court added, ``Despite the sexless life, the husband did not complain until January 2007, and since then, has not provided any physical or periodical opportunity for his wife to normalize their relations. Also, she has shown a strong desire to restore relations.''

Eeeep!

OK let's break this down. Man marries woman, attempts to have sex but fails. Didn't they get intimate at all before marriage? Didn't he have to woo her at some point or was she just given to him? Anyways, so at this point they should talk about it or go see a doctor. Who does he turn to? His parents! Who talks to their parents about sex? Repeat, who is married and talks to their parents about sex? And he went to his parents in 2007! EIGHT years later?

I'm not surprised the court ruled this way cause the husband never complained before. So if the guy isn't getting any at home and his wife is spending all his money, why doesn't he just cheat on her and then she can divorce him and court will have justifiable cause. It's not like he'll lose anytihng, she's spending all of his money anyways!

Iranian Election Push

Source: CNN

The sidewalks of Iran's capital are jammed with political rallies, just days before the Islamic republic decides on its next president.

A sea of green identifies the massive rally for reformist candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi, who is hoping to unseat hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Moussavi has rallied Iran's younger voters, many of whom just want Ahmadinejad out of office.

"This is like a revolution, people are excited about rescuing our country from a calamity it's been in for the last four years," says Pega, a Moussavi supporter who dons a green headband under her black headscarf.

Voters will head to the polls on Friday.

On the opposite street, Ahmadinejad's supporters, who are mostly traditional and overwhelmingly religious, wave pictures of the incumbent president as honking cars pass through the dueling sidewalk rallies. Many have been bused in to counter the ever-growing Moussavi crowds.

The Iranian president still has staunch support especially among the poor in the provinces to whom he has doled out money, benefits and favors.

.....more

Sounds like the young, the rich and the women are on Moussavi's side while the rest thing everything is great and want more Ahmadinejad. The opposition will always promise more freedoms. Whether they can deliver when elected is another issue.

Do you think a new President will change Iran's relations with the rest of the world?

The Art of Manhole Covers in Japan

Source: Gunaxin

The Japanese are famous for their creativity in almost anything. Even something as dull as manhole covers can catch your attention in Japan. Here is a collection of their wicked cool manhole covers.

See all of them here!

I'm not sure I'd want to step on any of these. Especially the two cartoon firemen!

Haruki Murakami's latest novel "1Q84" grips Japan

Source: Reuters

Acclaimed Japanese author Haruki Murakami has gripped fans around the world with complex, surrealist tales such as "Kafka on the Shore." Now, his first novel in five years, "1Q84," has Japan enthralled.

From commuters to bloggers, it seems everybody is flipping the pages of the two-volume, 1,055-page hardcover book, Murakami's first novel since 2004's "After Dark."

The book, which dwells on thought control, takes place in Tokyo in the year 1Q84, a title suggestive of George Orwell's "1984" as the Japanese word for 9 is pronounced the same as the English letter Q.

Newspapers, television and websites are full of commentary on the book, released about two weeks ago, and over 1 million copies are expected to be on the shelves by the end of the month, a print run the publishers say is very high for a literary work.

"There are others that sold more. But if a literary work sells 50,000 copies, we call that a bestseller. With 100,000 copies, that's a huge success," said Fumiaki Mori, a spokesman at the novel's publishers Shinchosha Publishing Co Ltd.

"By that standard, reaching this number in about 10 days since going on sale is a very fast pace."

The book alternates chapters between two characters, a female named Aomame and a male named Tengo. It deals with themes such as cults and abuse, loss, as well as sex, love and murder.

.....more

He's one of the greatest living novelists. Good strategy not to leak anything about the book. Now people are going to the bookstore in droves to get a copy! If anything, maybe it'll help the Japanese economy!

North Korean Women Who Flee to China Suffer

Source: Washington Post

For North Korean women who run off to China, rules are rigged on both sides of the border.

North Korea regards them as criminals for leaving. China refuses to recognize them as refugees, sending many back to face interrogation, hard labor and sometimes torture. Others stay on in stateless limbo, sold by brokers to Chinese men in need of fertile women and live-in labor.

Bang Mi Sun, a former actress in North Korea, lived the worst of both worlds. After crossing into China in 2002, she was separated from her two children and sold into marriage to three men. She managed to get away from all three. When she ran for the third time, Chinese police arrested her and sent her back to North Korea, where a police beating mangled her left leg. Permanently maimed, she was sent to a labor camp for reeducation.

"I had to live the life of an animal," said Bang, who fled the North for a second time in 2004 and found her way to South Korea. "If I had a chance to meet with President Obama, I would first like to tell him how North Korean women are being sold like livestock in China and, second, to know that North Korean labor camps are hell on earth."

.....more

OMG! That's an actress. You see how actresses are treated here? Actresses there are starved to death and must flee.

How worse can it get then to run from one communist country, where you go hungry, to another communist country, where they sell you to the bazillion men that they have.

I can't think of a worse scenario. Communism continues to show it's evil. What other ideology would send people climbing over walls, sailing on oceans and running across borders. Flee to China? I think I'd rather get on a little raft and float into the ocean off the North Korean border. I've got a better chance of getting picked up by a Western fleet than surviving China! And if I get shot or torpedoed, all the better.

Megan Fox Wows Tokyo at Transformers Premiere

ME! ME! ME! Over Here! A picture please!!

Source: The Daily Mail

The Japanese love American celebrities and movie premieres. It was no surprise that that came to see Megan Fox at the premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in Tokyo

When sharing a red carpet with a 16ft robot, Megan Fox knew she'd have to go the extra mile to get attention.

The actress guaranteed she made a maximum impact at the world premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in Tokyo with a striking figure-hugging purple gown.

Taking a style tip from seasoned red carpet veteran Liz Hurley, Megan showed off her fabulous legs in a slashed-to-the-thigh satin Donna Karan gown.

The 23-year-old beauty joined co-stars Shia LaBeouf, Isabel Lucas, Josh Duhamel, Ramon Rodriguez and Tyrese Gibson at the Toho cinema in Roppongi Hills for the first screening of the sequel to the 2007 blockbuster.

Hundred of Japanese fans queued for hours to see their idols, while only a lucky few managed to see the eagerly-anticipated film.

.....more

Hong Kong teacher who had sex with pupil 280 times jailed

Source: Earth Times

A Hong Kong schoolteacher was jailed Monday for 10 years after being convicted of having sex with one of his pupils 280 times starting when she was 12 years old. Chu Chi-wah, 39, was found guilty at a May hearing of 11 counts of having sex with a minor over a two-year period from 2004 to 2006.

A High Court judge described his acts as a "nightmare for parents" at Monday's sentencing and said that by refusing to plead guilty, he forced the girl to testify in court and relive the abuse.

The girl, now 17, testified that she had sex with Chu 10 times a month on average and slept with him around 280 times over the course of their relationship.

Chu, who taught the girl physical education and maths at primary school, started having sex with the girl when he gave her private tutorials after she began high school.

She would have sex with Chu after private tutorials and was even allowed by her mother to stay at his home overnight, the High Court was told.

Chu, who denied all charges, was acquitted on one count of allegedly inducing the girl to have an abortion when she got pregnant early on in their relationship.

280 times? Who counted? Did she write in her diary each time?
And the mom let him stay over? He was probably doin her too.

Chinese Brides Scam Your Money

UGH. 40000 yuan for that horseface? Things must be getting desperate.
SUCKER!

Source: Wall Street Journal

With no eligible women in his village, Zhou Pin, 27 years old, thought he was lucky to find a pretty bride whom he met and married within a week, following the custom in rural China.

Ten days later, Cai Niucuo vanished, leaving behind her clothes and identity papers. She did not, however, leave behind her bride price: 38,000 yuan, or about $5,500, which Mr. Zhou and his family had scrimped and borrowed to put together.

When Mr. Zhou reported his missing spouse to authorities, he found his situation wasn't unique. In the first two months of this year, Hanzhong town saw a record number of scams designed to extract high bride prices in a region with an oversupply of bachelors.

The fleeing Mrs. Zhou was one of 11 runaway brides -- hardly the isolated case or two that the town had seen in years past. The local phenomenon has fueled broader speculation among officials that the fast-footed wives may be part of a larger criminal ring.

.....more

Video Link (can't embed cause WSJ code is screwed up)


Nothing like a good scam. This one is very creative and the victims are the families who worship their sons. I love it. Not only to the sons get duped, there is additional match-making and everyone gets duped for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Marrying after meeting for a couple of hours? Buyer beware!

IFC: Food Party debuts tonight!

Got an email from IFC about a puppet cooking show hosted by Thu Tran that I've seen snippets of before. It makes it's TV debut tonight at 11:15pm Eastern on IFC. That's awfully late isn't it?

Unfortunately I can't get IFC in Calgary as it is channel 614 on Shaw Digital which I don't have :(

Food Party is a mind-bending, non-reality cooking show with Thu Tran as your hostess, a cast of unruly puppets as culinary aides, and a cavalcade of fictitious celebrities as surprise dinner guests. Shot on location in a Technicolor cardboard kitchen as well as other foreign and exotic cardboard locations, each episode will or will not instruct you on how to prepare wild gourmet multi-course meals with ingredients you probably have on hand in your kitchen already, such as pretzel rods, eggs, narwhal lungs, bizarre plot twists, secret ingredients, and pizza. After all, you never know who might show up for dinner.

Here are some clips

Episode 104:


Behind the Scenes:


And a review from the NY Times

Miss Hong Kong: Me No Speak English

Source: Asian Fanatics Forum

Miss Hong Kong's slogan has always been "Beautiful and Intelligent". But earlier the girls that turned up for the auditions were below standard. Apple Daily received an English e-mail from a contestant that attended the first interview named Lucy. She stated that the judges treated her poorly. The judges suggested her English was below standard which she found unfair. In the email she used the words "Hurt Die Me". The Co-ordinating manager for the pageant Chan Ka Yeung denied and said "Definitley not, the company will always pay attention to courtesy. Perhaps the contestant didn't get through the next round and was unhappy about it."

TVB executive Virginia Lok also denied treating the contestants poorly. She said "6 Contestants are grouped together to face the judges in the first interview. Normally we just ask them very general questions such as "Why do you want to enter Miss Hong Kong?" and "Which part of your body do you like most or dislike? We will see what reaction and answers they give us. Perhaps the contestant was too nervous."

Lucy's E-mail

The Contestant's e-mail contained a lot of Hong Kong English (港式英語),

我是 Lucy, I went to Miss Hong Kong first interview. Wah d judges very not polite and not nice law. Today I see a megazine saying this year's Girls so ugly. I saw many good and pretty girls there but they didn't choose ja ma. Don't choose mei suen law but the judge in first interview -- most very not polite to many young girls and to to me law. I only 18 the judges ask me to "why join Miss HK go and why not study la u only F7 ja wor how can fright with other wor." Also say my English bad … hurt die me.
Ho La, other girl tell me la, she study in University ok ga dou but little fat or short then the judge (woman) said " why you look fat or so short!" wah ho hurt ga ma.
One girl is a 博 士 student ar very high level and very nice ga dou cant get in second interview la. We think she will be in ga but she said no law. You can search her pic and my pic to see la. She gum high level duo ng dak, gum me ng duk duo rite gei but i think the whole choosing is not fair law, choose model mei? young yao inch', high study level yao inch, short yao inch … They onky choose rich girl law so bad.
We don't go and let them inch ga law if they need tall or high level people then why not put in the application form lei.
Waste time !
dou ng fair gei!
u can email me if u want.
Lucy

I've got a headache. Was this letter to prove her English was good and the judges were unfair?

HURT DIE ME!

Some Asswipe Invents A New Asswipe

Source: Japanorama

What's an eco-friendly way to recycle used office paper and botched photocopies? Here we might mulch it to be used in farming. In Japan they're turning it into toilet paper.

Paperless office? That's what the computer was supposed to usher in but as any office worker knows, it just hasn't happened. Memos, reports, handouts and photocopies just keep coming and coming, much like Publisher's Clearing House Day at the post office. It's enough to make anyone go postal... but now Japan's Nakabayashi Co. has come up with a brilliant solution: recycle the scrap paper into crap paper!

.....more

It's a good idea. The amount of papers going through an office is remarkable. So if there's a way to make it into nice and soft toilet paper for my delicate tushy, then woohoo!

Chinese Computers Will Come Anti-Wanged

Say goodbye to these lovely ladies

Source: Google

China is requiring personal computers sold in the country to carry software that blocks online pornography and other Web sites, potentially giving one of the world's most sophisticated censorship regimes even more control over the Internet.

The software's developer said Monday the tool would give parents more oversight by preventing computers from accessing sites with pornographic pictures or language. Jinhui Computer System Engineering Co., which won a government contract to develop the "Green Dam-Youth Escort" filtering software, was compiling a database of sites to block.

Although porn sites are initially targeted, the software could be used to block other Web sites, too, including those based on keywords rather than specific Web addresses.

Parents can also add their own sites to the blocking list, Zhang Chenmin, general manager of Jinhui, told The Associated Press.

"If a father doesn't want his son to be exposed to content related to basketball or drugs, he can block all Web sites related to those things," Zhang said.

.....more

Basketball?! Is there something racy and violent about basketball that I don't know about? (Kobe Bryant notwithstanding)

I don't think the Chinese really understand. If you can't download porn why bother having a computer?

Journalists sentenced to twelve years of hard labor camps

Source: Reuters

North Korea, facing U.N. sanctions for last month's nuclear test, on Monday raised the stakes in its growing confrontation with Washington by jailing two U.S. journalists to 12 years hard labor for "grave crime."

The sentence follows U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's warning on Sunday the United States was considering putting the North back on its list of states that sponsor terrorism, which would further isolate the impoverished country.

The journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, of U.S. media outlet Current TV, were arrested in March working on a story near the border between North Korea and China. The trial for the two, working for the media outlet founded by former Vice President Al Gore, opened on Thursday.

"The trial confirmed the grave crime they committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing as they had already been indicted and sentenced each of them to 12 years of reform through labor," the official KCNA news agency said in a brief dispatch.

The harsh sentence is certain to deepen the chill in relations with the United States which has been trying for years, with scant success, to convince North Korea to give up its dreams of becoming a nuclear weapons power.

I was expecting death. The government of North Korea is no joking matter and people who wanted to play nice with them and be their friends and support their policies, this is what their policies are. For those of you who feel this is an injustice, it isn't. It's an injustice to us because we are fortunate to be able to live in a free society. I've escaped communism, this is their normal way of dealing with things. I know there's an immediate outcry that this is wrong. But let's step back and look at the facts.

I'm curious why journalists feel the need to go onsite when doing their reporting when the report is not at all relevant to Current TV. What was this report about? Especially when the journalists are American and the country is North Korea. Why did they feel the need to go to the North Korean border? If it was investigative journalism, maybe they should have realized it wasn't the safest place to be, especially without official military backing. Major new organizations always need passes and credentials to enter any country. Different countries have difference laws, what are you going to do? Argue with them?

Not saying they deserve what happened to them but it was very poor decision-making on their producer's part. Hell, if they did cross into North Korean territory, you can't even claim North Korea is doing anything wrong. There are journalists legally entering North Korea all the time, and secretly snooping around a bit. I've seen the documentaries that gets sneaked out. CBC has reporters there all the time. That's the proper way to do it. In this case, you more or less forfeit your rights to freedom by waltzing in, like these two did. It was a huge mistake.

I feel for them but there isn't much the US can do. They can't be protecting every Tom, Dick and Harry who goes running into all these different countries without permits. And to be frank, these are two small-time unknown reports. It's not like they caught Katie Couric which would really get America all riled up. Of course CBS would never do something this stupid.

Hopefully the North Korea will use the women as a bargaining chip and the government can get them out with just a little food and supplies. Otherwise, there's no way to save them :(

Japanese 'herbivores' not interested in bush

Source: CNN

They are young, earn little and spend little, and take a keen interest in fashion and personal appearance -- meet the "herbivore men" of Japan.

Author and pop culture columnist Maki Fukasawa coined the term in 2006 in a series of articles on marketing to a younger generation of Japanese men. She used it to describe some men who she said were changing the country's ideas about just what is -- and isn't -- masculine.

"In Japan, sex is translated as 'relationship in flesh,'" she said, "so I named those boys 'herbivorous boys' since they are not interested in flesh."

Typically, "herbivore men" are in their 20s and 30s, and believe that friendship without sex can exist between men and women, Fukasawa said.

The term has become a buzzword in Japan. Many people in Tokyo's Harajuku neighborhood were familiar with "herbivore men" -- and had opinions about them.

Shigeyuki Nagayama said such men were not eager to find girlfriends and tend to be clumsy in love, and he admitted he seemed to fit the mold himself.

"My father always asks me if I got a girlfriend. He tells me I'm no good because I can't get a girlfriend."

Midori Saida, a 24-year-old woman sporting oversized aviators and her dyed brown hair in long ringlets, said "herbivore men" were "flaky and weak."

"We like manly men," she said. "We are not interested in those boys -- at all."

.....more

Agreed. Women like to feel secure and even though I don't need a manly man, I just need a normal guy that is confident about themselves. Someone who can be my companion. I don't want a guy with no confidence what I have to babysit all the time.

It's also strange how it says they don't like to spend money but have a keen interest in fashion and appearance. That costs money!

Confident, assertive men are the biggest turn on. Why would I want a guy that is afraid of himself?

Green Tea Coca Cola!

Source: SF Gate

Forget "Classic" or "New" Coke. In Japan, you can soon have your cola flavored with green tea or basil.

Green tea-flavored Coca-Cola will hit Japanese stores June 8, Coca Cola (Japan) Co. spokesman Katsuya Sato said Thursday. It contains tea antioxidants called catechins, leaves a slight green tea aftertaste and is mainly targeted at health-conscious women in their 20s and 30s, Sato said.

"We wanted to cater to people who are looking for something that tastes good but is also good for health and beauty," he said.

Coca Cola is the leader in Japan's cola market but faces stiff competition from non-carbonated bottled drinks such as tea, coffee and fruit juices.

Rival Pepsi Cola is countering with another exotic cola - Japanese basil-flavored "Pepsi Shiso," which hits stores in late June.

Too many variations. I still like Coke Classic! Green tea is bad enough on it's own, let alone combined with coke.

Al Gore may go to NKorea to help US reporters

Source: Breitbart

The United States might send former US vice president Al Gore to Pyongyang in order to negotiate the release of two American journalists on trial in North Korea for illegal entry.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly did not rule out such a possibility when asked if it would make sense to send Gore, who is chairman of the California station Current TV, which employs the two journalists.

"It's a very, very sensitive issue, I'm not going to go into it," Kelly told reporters who pressed him on the matter.

"This is such a sensitive issue, I'm just not going to go into those kinds of discussions that we may or may not have had," he added when asked whether Gore himself had raised the matter with the State Department.

"The bottom line is that these two young women should be released but I'm not going to go into any kind of details on what we will or won't do," Kelly said when asked again if it would help to send Gore.

How is this going to work? Is he going to lecture them about global warming and bore them to death.

Asian Ripoff LXIII - Straight Up

Artist: Hyori Lee
Language: Korean

Youtube Link

Not too bad. Doesn't have the "umph" that the original has. But all the guys I know think she's HAWT!

Taco truck a Twitter hit

Source: CNN

A Korean barbecue taco truck has thousands of loyal customers who find it on Twitter. CNN's Ted Rowlands reports

This might the the most idiotic thing I've ever seen. Why are people chasing a truck and standing in line for a TACO! Are you people insane? You can get any type of food in the world in 5 minutes anywhere. I must be a spoiled brat cause I don't wait in line for anything.

And I love the quote from the co-founder

"It doesn't make any sense whatsoever, we make our people wait in line for two hours, we make them wait in the rain, we don't give out chairs to sit on, we don't take reservations, we're late half the time but we must be doing something right".

Bullshit. You're doing nothing right. This is the worst customer service I've ever heard of and you people still flock like sheep to wait for this shit? Idiots.

Using twitter is a great idea. But if you twitter that you'll be at this corner at 10pm then be there. If you're going to be late, twitter that! People have iPhones and Blackberries and can see if you're going to be late. It's not rocket science.

So screw this. How about taking your SO or your friends to a nice restaurant where you will have a nice table and get good service from people who appreciate your presence, instead of making you wait in line for a quick cashgrab.

If I was your gf and you took me to chase a taco truck, I would dump you right on the spot. You can wait in the rain by your own lonesome ugly-ass. I don't care if the tacos are so good they make you instantly orgasm, good customer service should still be appreciated.

It's a son for Isabella Leong

Source: The Standard

What do you give a man who has everything? Ask PCCW chairman Richard Li Tzar-kai.

The second son of Li Ka-shing gave Hong Kong's richest man a grandson with the help of the delightfully beautiful Isabella Leong Lok-si.

The hardest part was the name, of course, and the two tycoons kept it all in the family: Grandpa Li named the boy Li Chang-zhi while the father christened him Ethan.

Leong's manager, Michelle Lo, said the big day was on April 26 in Toronto, Canada, with Ethan Li weighing in at seven pounds.

If you aren't sure who Isabella is, she played "Lin", the young girl in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Wow this kid's got it made. Grandson of the richest man in Hong Kong and more importantly, born in CANADA! He might already be the richest man in Canada. The kid immedaitely qualifies to buy a hockey team now.

Enter The Dragon: Shih Kien dies at age 96

Source: SF Gate

Veteran Hong Kong actor Shih Kien, who played Bruce Lee's archrival in the 1973 movie "Enter the Dragon," has died at age 96.

"With his death, Hong Kong has lost an outstanding performing arts talent," Acting Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So said in a statement.

Shih died Wednesday afternoon at a Hong Kong hospital with his children by his side, the Ming Pao Daily News reported Friday. The cause was kidney failure, the Apple Daily newspaper said.

Shih made his film debut in 1940 and went on to act in about 350 films, most notably playing villains in films about Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hong, according to Ming Pao.

He was best known to Western audiences for playing the evil martial arts expert Han in "Enter the Dragon." In the movie, Lee's character is hired by a foreign government to infiltrate Han's island and seeks to avenge his sister's death by Han's bodyguard.

Hong Kong's movie industry mourned Shih's death, with "Infernal Affairs" star Tony Leung Chiu-wai saying he was a big fan of the late actor.

"I grew up watching Uncle Kien's movies. He's an actor I admire and respect a lot. I'm very sad that he has passed away," Apple Daily quoted Leung as saying, referring to Shih by his nickname.

Enter the Dragon was my favorite Bruce Lee movie. Who could forget all those battles on the island, in the caves and the final duel with Shih Kien as the villian with those steel claws in the house of mirrors.

RIP Uncle Kien


Youtube Link

The Gay Bar of Laos

Source: FFWD

Deep in the mountains of Indochina, on the shores of the mighty Mekong River, in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Luang Prabang where every city block features at least two Buddhist temples, each more beautiful than the last, sits the only gay bar east of Thailand. Khop Chai isn’t remarkable at first. It’s a tiny bar that a straight man like me can spend 10 minutes in before realizing all the patrons are male. Though gay-friendly hangouts aren't rare in neighbouring Vietnam and Cambodia, an outright “out” venue is nearly unheard of. Khop Chai is so rare that if you meet a gay man who has visited Laos, odds are he’s frequented this bar.

Khop Chai is decorated with the typical Asian combination of bamboo and garishness. Rope lights outline every available surface and bright disco lights accompany shrill dance music that blares into the street. Inside, tiny, gay Laotians flirt shamelessly with middle-aged westerners. Drinks are cheap, the food is good and there is always a local willing to share my table and ask me on a date. There is not, it seems, any fear of the country’s totalitarian government among these gay men.

In a way it is safer to be “out” in one of the world's last remaining communist countries than in small town North America. “Geoff,” the American-born co-owner, asked me not to use his real name – not for fear of Laotian authorities, but so his clients back in the U.S. won’t find out his orientation. (Being a foreigner, Geoff really can't own anything in The People's Democratic Republic of Laos, so he shares both businesses with his Laotian boyfriend).

.....more

It's very cool that gays are recognized openly in this area of the world. No matter how much people look down on them, they always have this little car to go to where they are always welcomed. Also cool to see the communist government worry more about things like prostitution and decadence than homosexuality.

Men Live Better Where Women Are In Charge

Ha-ha-ha-ha, all the men in the palm of my hand

Source: Spiegel Online

THE MOSUO MATRIARCHY

How does a matriarchy really work? Argentinian writer Ricardo Coler decided to find out and spent two months with the Mosuo in southern China. "Women have a different way of dominating," the researcher told SPIEGEL ONLINE.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Coler, you are from Argentina, where macho behavior is not exactly unheard of. What was it like living for two months in the matriarchical society of the Mosuo in China?

Coler: I wanted to know what happened in a society where women determine how things are done. How do women tick when, from birth onwards, their societal position allows them to decide everything? We men know what a man is, we put that together quickly -- but what constitutes a woman? Although, I didn't get any wiser on that point.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is Mosuo society a paradise for feminists?

Coler: I had expected to find an inverse patriarchy. But the life of the Mosuo has absolutely nothing to do with that. Women have a different way of dominating. When women rule, it's part of their work. They like it when everything functions and the family is doing well. Amassing wealth or earning lots of money doesn't cross their minds. Capital accumulation seems to be a male thing. It's not for nothing that popular wisdom says that the difference between a man and a boy is the price of his toys.

.....interview continued

What a place! Women dominating everything, choosing sex partners, raising kids, not getting stuck with a loser in a marriage, making decisions on the golf course etc...

Sounds wonderful!

Internet is Evil: We shock you into therapy!

Source: China.org

Electroshock therapy is being administered to youngsters at a controversial Internet addiction clinic where patients are "reborn".

More than 3,000 youths have been tricked or forced in to a four-month program run by Dr Yang Yongxin at a clinic in Shandong province. About 100 people are currently receiving treatment at the clinic.

Patients are given electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for breaking any of the center's 86 rules, including eating chocolate, locking the bathroom door, taking pills before a meal and sitting on Yang's chair without permission, the Information Times reported.

Parents or guardians sign a contract acknowledging that the child will be given ECT and pay 6,000 yuan ($878) per month for treatment.

Details about the treatment were revealed online recently when a number of former patients began to write about their experience.

According to the posts, the clinic administers continuous ECT in a current of up to 200 milliamperes.

Meanwhile, patients are forced to admit "wrongdoings" and those of others and are also instructed to kneel down in front of their parents to show obedience.

....more

Wow. Who determines that being on the internet is a bad thing and how much is too much? This a clear case of parents too lazy for parenting and officials cashing in on this paranoia. And how do they treat you? By continuous tasering?

Kids are going to use the internet, there's no getting around it.

Tiananmen Square Massacre: 20 years later

So here we are, on June 4th, 2009 remembering what happened on this day 20 years ago. It's not a day to argue right or wrong. It's a day just to remember and mourn.

The Chinese government today will try to ignore everything and block all information from it's citizens from fear of the truth.

What does the Chinese Government say happened on June 4, 1989?



Umbrellas? That's just fucking embarassing.

But we all know better. I don't really care if the Chinese are censored and can't read this. We all know what happened. On a day like this, we remember what happened 20 years ago and we will never forget.

The following videos show us what really happened that day.

CBC:

Youtube Link

BBC:

Youtube Link

Tank Man Documentary (8 parts):

Youtube Link

Edison Chen: CNN Interview

Unless you've been living under a rock you already know about the Edison Chen Sex Photo scandal. Here is his first formal interview since the incident last year.

Source: CNN TalkAsia

He has been at the center of Asia's biggest sex scandal, but now actor Edison Chen has broken his silence on the public episode that has ended careers and caused him to face at least one reported death threat.

Talking exclusively to CNN on his return to Hong Kong, where he had been forging a career in the movies, Chen reveals his side of the scandal that broke in early last year when hundreds of sexually explicit photos of Chen with other celebrities turned up on the Internet.

"There's been a lot of talk through the past year and a half about this or that and a lot of rumors, a lot of hearsay, and I feel, you know, I've kept quiet just to kind of respect everyone and respect the law," Chen told CNN

There are 3 parts: Scandal, Photos and The Women.

If the embeded videos don't work they can be seen here The embedding on CNN is working at times.. it's kind of stupid.







What do you think? I thought he sounded very upfront and sincere. The pictures are very old and his current girlfriend made him delete everything "empty trashcan".

And again the people who spread his photos are so stupid. No money? No blackmail? Just for laughs? Hope the guy rots in jail.

China ups security ahead of Tiananmen anniversary

Source: Reuters

Chinese security forces blanketed Tiananmen Square on Wednesday ahead of the 20th anniversary of the June 4 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, a day after Twitter and Hotmail Internet services in China were blocked.

Black police vans lurked at the side of the Forbidden City, while police and paramilitary forces patrolled through crowds of tourists enjoying a sunny summer morning.

Tanks rolled into Tiananmen Square before dawn on June 4, 1989 to crush weeks of student and worker protests. The ruling Communist Party, which has never released a death toll, fears that any commemoration of the crackdown could challenge its continuing hold on power.

.....more

Security at the square? Stopping foreigners? What do they think will happen tomorrow? If the government did nothing wrong 20 years ago what are they so scared of? Most of the youth nowadays don't really care about Tiananmen... since they know nothing about it! They would be more pissed off when the Chinese government does something big and drastic like, oh I don't know, blocking out half the internet!

Asian Ripoff LXII - Kiss From A Rose

Artist: Angela Aki
Language: Japanese

Back to the video genre for this one :)


Youtube Link

A really good cover of an awesome song.

Movie Reviews - June 2, 2009

Source: LoveHKFilm

City of Life and Death - Nanjing! Nanjing! (China)

Lu Chuan's City of Life and Death impresses by eschewing patriotic pride for a surprisingly balanced portrait of the Nanking Massacre. The themes sometimes speak louder than the characters or the situations, but overall this is a powerful achievement and required viewing for anyone who cares for Chinese film.

Youtube Link


The First 7th Night (HK)

It looks like a horror movie, but it really isn't one. Director Herman Yau takes elements of horror, crime film and supernatural drama and mixes them into an unassuming and engaging little genre film.

Youtube Link


Tombstone of the Fireflies (Japan)

It’s an admirable attempt at a live-action adaptation of the classic anti-war story, but Tombstone of the Fireflies is too calculated in its portrayal of war to leave any lasting impact like its animated predecessor did.



Desires of the Heart (China)

A female-centered comedy-drama, Desires of the Heart possesses well-observed characters hidden beneath its deceptively lightweight exterior. The resolutions to each of the love stories don't completely satisfy, and director Ma Liwen's technique is a bit clumsy. Nevertheless, this is worthwhile commercial stuff and much better than it initially seems.

No more rambunctious cuddling games for you, Japan

Source: Kotaku

First Japanese rape games were "banned". Then, they were unbanned — rather, they were never officially banned. Now? Now, they're banned. Like, for real.

The country's Ethics Organization of Computer Software held an emergency meeting today in which nearly 100 representatives from various erotic game companies concluded that the manufacturer and sale of rape-type games should cease. This was not a government decision or even a legal one, but instead a self-policing policy on the part of the EOCS.

None of the representatives thought it was out of line to ban these types of games, and many felt this was the only way to rectify any problems caused by these types of games. Do know: a vote was not taken at this meeting, for whatever that is worth.

.....more

Good! I'm usually against banning anything but these games are pretty extreme. I don't have problem with sex or porn but these video games promote a crime and can psychological influence men to objectify real women in public as objects in a video game. Very disrespectful.

Whatever happened to simple video games... like Frogger!

China blocks Twitter, Flickr and Hotmail ahead of Tiananmen anniversary

DUH! What's going on? Looks like good news to me! China #1!

Source: Guardian

Chinese censors blocked access to Twitter and other popular online services today , two days before the 20th anniversary of the crackdown on democracy protests in Tiananmen Square.

The move came amid increasing pressure on dissidents, in a reflection of the authorities' anxiety ahead of the sensitive date. Hundreds died as the army forced its way through Beijing to clear away demonstrators from the capital's political heart in June 1989, but the issue is taboo on the mainland.

The photo-sharing site Flickr, email service Hotmail and other services were also unavailable this evening.

"Twitter is a tool which can put all the sensitive things and sensitive guys together, very quickly. That's the very thing that the Chinese government doesn't want to see in China," said one blogger, Michael Anti, who had predicted Twitter would not be allowed for long.

"They needed time to figure out what it is and whether it needed to be controlled."

He added: "I don't know whether they will reopen Twitter after 4 June. I hope they will, for Twitter is a crucial icon for the new internet era on which many innovations emerge. China can't block their young generation from the future."

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Shuuuuuuuush Tiananmen never happened so it is not to be discussed. It's pretty sad that govenment have to censor everything to their people and continue to hide their evil actions. The Chinese public are just mindless idiots.

A statement like this from me would be followed by comments and hate mail from Chinese pawns... but they can't read this today so NYAH!! phhhhhhhhhttttttttt

*dance dance dance*

'Happy Girl' Not Cecilia Cheung

Gong Mi (left), is nicknamed "little Cecilia Cheung" for her resemblance of the Hong Kong actress (right).

Source: CriEnglish

She is not a celebrity yet but her face is already well known. At least it appears that way.

Gong Mi, an 18-year-old undergraduate at Beijing Film Academy, has just advanced into the regional finals of the "Happy Girl" singing competition in Zhengzhou. Yet she is at the center of attention not for her voice, but her face that some Internet users exclaim some "90 percent" close to Hong Kong singer-actress Cecilia Cheung.

"I'm not going to deny my pleasure to hear that," Gong Mi told reporters on Sunday. She went on to deny rumors of plastic surgery, saying "my parents gave me what I have and any change to that would be disrespectful to them."

Gong, who is studying acting at China's most prestigious film school, is not as avid as her classmates about becoming a star. She signed up for "Happy Girl" to find something to do while traveling with her mother in Zhengzhou, and she has no filming plans before graduation, because "mom doesn't allow it."

While not aspiring, Gong is preparing for her breakthrough. She says she is currently attending classes in martial arts, singing, dancing and equitation, hoping these skills will someday come in handy after she launches her acting career.

Youtube Link

Want to really know if she looks like Cecilia? Just give Edison a camera. :)

First China, then Vietnam... now Myanmar brides?

Source: Asiaone

MOVE over, Vietnam brides. Here come the Myanmar maidens.

Aged between 20 and 35, they are ethnic Chinese who can speak Mandarin and cook Chinese meals.

So they would find it easier to adapt to life in Singapore, said Mr Mark Lin of Vietnam Brides International, who's offering his customers a wider choice of brides.

Mr Lin, who had specialised in Vietnam brides since 2003, said: 'I have to teach Vietnamese girls Mandarin if they don't speak it. But these Myanmar women are already fluent in the language.'

He said the women are keen to marry Singaporean men because they want better lives outside Myanmar, which has been under military rule since 1988.

While agencies offering Vietnamese brides charge between $6,000 and $8,000, Mr Lin charges $8,800 for Myanmar brides.

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I wonder what contry will be next when men get bored of Myanmar brides? what's wrong with Singaporean brides anyways?

Related: Don't treat Vietnamese brides like consumer goods

China puts a stop to snake-bitten cock-in-a-pot

Whaaaaaaat?

Source: Reuters

Chinese health authorities are putting a stop to restaurants serving chickens which have been bitten to death by poisonous snakes and cooked up for a supposedly detoxing meal.

The dish, served by a small number of eateries in the southern province of Guangdong and the southwestern city of Chongqing, has generated a storm of publicity and controversy in the Chinese media and amongst bloggers.

A video showing a cook holding a snake and forcing it to bite a live chicken until it dies has been widely circulated online, (http:/you.video.sina.com.cn/b/21145091-1405053100.html) generating mainly angry comments.

"It's disgusting and really cruel," wrote one poster on the popular portal sina.com.cn.

"Not only is it cruel and blood-thirsty, but totally amoral," the Chongqing Business Daily cited a neighbor to one of the restaurants as saying.

Health authorities in Guangdong have already told restaurants to stop serving "poisonous snake-bitten chicken" and now those in Chongqing have joined in.

"Although nobody has been poisoned, this at the very least is an irregular way of slaughtering poultry," the business newspaper quoted a local health official as saying.

One dish, prized among some in Guangdong, is monkey brains scooped from a live animal, which has regularly upset animal rights campaigners in the West.

Supposedly detoxing meal? Must be another crazy superstition.

Japan Flocks to Ostrich Masks

Source: Bloomberg

Japanese researcher Yasuhiro Tsukamoto’s flock of 500 ostriches are being enlisted into the global fight against swine flu by exploiting Japan’s practice of wearing masks in public to ward off allergies and colds.

Tsukamoto, 40, a veterinary professor at Kyoto Prefectural University, was part of a team that investigated the deaths of birds in 2004, when avian influenza hit farms in western Japan. The probe into the virus that killed three-fifths of infected people worldwide spurred him to produce flu-fighting antibodies from ostriches, which are resistant to infectious diseases.

In July, even before the swine flu outbreak surfaced, Tsukamoto began selling, for about $2 each, face masks lined with the ostrich antibodies. The swine flu circling the globe has heightened the Japanese obsession with wearing face masks, leading shops to sell out plain white surgical types as well as patterned varieties, such as those with Mickey Mouse themes.

“Masks have become part of social etiquette as they give Japanese a sense of security that they and those around them aren’t spreading diseases,” Masataka Yoshikawa, who tracks consumer behavior at market researcher Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living, said in a telephone interview from Tokyo.

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Not sure masks are part of the social etiquette that I want to be in. Flu or no flu I like to see people's smiling faces.