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Dude, I totally know how you can save money on a new Audi S4 — buy a SMA Shanghai Maple from China instead!
Recent reports of certain automakers in China outright copying the look of Western cars have been met by a flurry of lawsuits. Chinese automakers like Shuanghuan Auto are accused of copying cars like the BMW X5, while Hongqi’s limousine bears a striking resemblance to the Lincoln Town Car. In some comparison pictures, you can’t even tell the original from the copy, as in the case of the SMA Shanghai Maple and the Audi S4 Cabrio.
Yup. Businesses in China have taken pirating to a whole new level. We ain’t talking Microsoft Vista CDs or Iron Man VCDs here. We’re talking automobiles!
As you might suspect, legal threats and lawsuits are rampant between US and European automakers and their Chinese counterparts. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but these rip-offs are pretty damn blatant. Just check out these photos! Hilarious!
2 Comments | Posted in: Current Events, Observations
Yes, count ‘em, 15 straight years that the United Nations has rejected the Republic of China, i.e. Taiwan, from entering the United Nations, as reported in the Associated Press today:
“UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A key General Assembly committee rejected Taiwan’s bid to join the United
Nations on Wednesday, … St. Vincent and the Solomon Islands — two of Taiwan’s allies — spoke in favor of putting the item on [Taiwan's entry into the U.N. on] the agenda, while China and Egypt spoke against it, Tisovsky said….On Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Taiwan’s application was not accepted for legal reasons, because of the 1971 U.N. resolution that gave China’s seat to the Beijing-based People’s Republic of China…Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian told a videoconference last week that a referendum is the best way to show the world whether the majority of Taiwan’s 23 million people favor the island gaining a U.N. seat.”
It would be very interesting to see what China would do if Taiwan did hold a referendum, regardless of the outcome. Would China attack Taiwan as it has promised in the past, with the 2008 Beijing Olympics occurring just 5 months later? I’m betting that China would not - there would be such a huge backlash. Then again, who would have thought that the Chinese would have sent in troops into Tiananmen Square on June 4th, 1989?
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Qbert is not only a turntablist phenomenon, he’s also best known as a prankster. This video clip turns the tables on a telemarketer calling him to refinance his home. A little long but well worth the time to see a telemarketer get tables turned by a great turntablist.
1 Comment | Posted in: Entertainment
4 Comments
Sophia Yen MD MPH (Adolescent Medicine at LPCH at Stanford) is doing a study called Tampons Or Pads (TOP study) to study why women choose which product and health issues related to that. It should take only 5-10 minutes of your time and will help women’s health.
This survey is for research purposes and is being done over a secure server and the answers you submit will be STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
Here is the link to the survey.
http://med.stanford.edu/survey/top1
Also, if you have any questions/concerns about this survey, please email Dr. Sophia Yen at topstudy08@yahoo.com.
Dr. Yen’s study on how why women choose tampons versus pads is based on her personal experience as an Asian American, and is specifically looking for Asian-American females. I myself am obviously NOT an expert on, uhm, feminine issues, but I’m more than happy to oblige with helping someone out with their survey. Now if you excuse me, I have to go read a BMX magazine or something.
4 Comments | Posted in: Lifestyles
We’re in week 2 of the NFL football season and I’ve discovered the cultural sensitivity of one particular NFL team. I’m a Niner fan since birth, but I’ll have to give props to the Oakland Raiders for this one. I can see it now, a sea of silver and black face painted fans saying, Ano ba! Raiders! The Oakland Raiders website seeks to expand its fanbase to native Tagalog speaking fans. I originally found the article on Philippinenews.com. You can take a look at the Tagalog website here.:
The addition of a Tagalog version to the website is very relevant in terms of representing Filipino culture and shows the organization’s dedication to a burgeoning Filipino population in both the Bay Area and the region of Southern California
Next time you’re in the Bay Area and you head to a Raiders game, ask the vendor selling hot dogs for lumpia or pancit instead. And if you’re lucky you might even get balut! Now if only the Niners were just as forward thinking, I’d be all over it! P.S. The Raiders organization is also culturally sensitive to Japanese fans too!
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This is a bit of old news from San Francisco Chronicle, but I think it’s still cool:
National Geographic handed out Olympus digital cameras to 15 San Francisco teenagers — first-generation Asian Americans and newly arrived Asian immigrants — and hooked them up with a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who talked about seeing, framing, texture and storytelling. Then they were set loose to shoot in Chinatown and around their neighbors and kin.
This reminds me of a similar news story I once read. Some inner city kids in a New York borough were given cameras and told to take photos of their environment. Despite living in a violent and decrepit neighborhood, it was surprising to see such beauty and serenity in their photos.
(I tried searching for that news story but couldn’t find it; if anyone remembers it, please let me know.)
(Continued)
2 Comments | Posted in: Lifestyles, Observations
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i am so pleased to have discovered today that two of my favorite people and artists–ridiculously talented & skilled singer-songwriter Goh Nakamura & equally endowed artist/animator Dino Ignacio — are working on a new animated video of Goh’s song “embarcadero blues.”
oh happy day. i am exceedingly excited to see the final product; but here is a rough cut of it in the meantime:
while i’m on the subject, if you want to catch the Goh live and you are in the sf bay area, he’s playing at the make-out room on 22nd & mission on friday 9/21 as part of Kearny Street Workshop’s 9th annual APAture festival, which i will be posting on at some time in near future.
i apologize if this was old news; i find things out late, sometimes.
2 Comments | Posted in: Entertainment
4 Comments
(I love how there are YouTube commenters asking if they’re DJ QBert’s kids. Because they’re both Asian. Muh.)
4 Comments | Posted in: Entertainment
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