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New Barlun 纽巴伦

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:34:12 +0800

Caught this one in Wuhan while in a mid-tier center.

It's funny for a lot of reasons. In Chinese New Balance is 新百伦 xin bai lun, and the crossover keeps the meaning of "New" (xin = new) while phonetically getting close to Balance with bai lun.

This fake goes for the full phonetic copy with 纽巴伦 niu ba lun. Niu is the same as in New York (纽约) which everyone knows is "New." Then they took that extra step and messed it up with Barlun. So it's both cheesy and funny. They had their own booth too.

Eli Manning spotted in Shanghai

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:18:16 +0800

Taipei takeout coffee comparison

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:13:32 +0800

Here's another reason why Taipei is such a great place to live. Good take out coffee almost everywhere. Check out this recent Next Magazine article.

Hipster store front on Shaanxi Road

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:47:59 +0800

Strolling down Shaanxi Rd on the first day of Dragon year, being mindful of the spirit of life and a little smile comes to my face as I see a King Curtis LP in a store front window.

碧雲寺

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:41:58 +0800

Biyun Temple in Tainan, Taiwan.

Bite Me

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:15:29 +0800

Raffles City Mall, B1, Shanghai

Lower tier graffiti

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:13:57 +0800

Noticed this pretty cool graffiti in a small 4th tier city, Jiaxing, while out and about...

10 Lessons American Schools Can Learn from China

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:57:20 +0800

I received a nice note from a woman named Kaitlyn Cole who asked me to pass this information along. Interesting reading, and hopefully helpful to someone looking at education and China.

Go learn something today!

10 Lessons American Schools Can Learn from China

The ecomonics of chicken feet

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:57:16 +0800

I'm not a big fan of chicken feet. Some people love them - my wife for example, and my buddy Chris. He's even a foreigner, I think the only foreigner who actually loves crunching on these things.

This Freakonomics article talks about the economics of this curious delicacy. I've had beers with guys at Tyson and Cargill here in China who have been telling me for a long time that chicken feet are a major US export item for them. I never believed them. This article is proof.

So next time you have one of these tasty treats hanging out of your mouth, you'll know that you are saving the American economy. Buy American! Eat chicken feet!

Chengzitan kids

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:33:18 +0800

These kids were really enjoying themselves in this little town (城子坦镇) in Northern Dalian. Reminds we what it's like to not think about grown up things.

Cat Army deja vu

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 22:38:58 +0800

Years ago I was in France and had this fantastic dream. I sat down near the flower market in Nice on a stone pebbled beach early in the morning and told my wife (future wife) the entire dream. It took about 20 minutes. She said "You've got to write that down!" I did, and a few years later it was actually published in a book of stories I released in Taiwan. It was called "The Great French Cat Army."

Imagine my surprise when I read "Xinjiang "Cat Army" Declares War on Rats."

Talk about a cool deja vu!

Mariachis serenading a whale

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:36:13 +0800

This is priceless. The whale is more attentive than many audiences I've seen. My favorites were always the drunk finger game screamers yelling "10!" "15!" "5!" at the top of their lungs while the band was trying to get through a set. The guy screaming on the cell phone was also another favorite. Sometimes when this happened, we'd stop and go into a schtick where we'd answer him until he figured out everyone was watching him, then he'd leave. I quit playing when I eventually realized all that practice was really just a reason for people to buy more beer.

Anyway, back to the whale. It's very cool that we animals pick up on rhythm and emotion. We are all very visceral like that.

Try a Little Tenderness

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 19:12:02 +0800

One of the best songs ever, and one of the best histories of one of the best songs ever...

How 'Try A Little Tenderness' Got Its Soul (And Lost It)

Source: www.theawl.com

The jellybean car

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 20:21:32 +0800

This sweet little ride got me up to about an hour away from DPRK. 4-door, sunroof, stereo, bucket seats, with optional fringes. But I don't think it's bulletproof.

Jabbawokeez in Dalian

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:13:10 +0800

I'm a Jabbawokeez fan. Caught their show at the Montecarlo in Las Vegas, and was blown away.

Was really surprised when I caught two of their crew hanging out on a corner in Western Dalian....