Monthly Archives: March 2009

Tune in: Beijing’s underground music scene

I’ve recently been tuning into local Chinese sites like NeoCha to listen to bands from Shanghai and China and found some really cool gems. I’ll share some of these later – when 9-5 work isn’t so pressing. But for now, sit back, relax, and watch this video on China’s underground rock scene by CNN. It’s [...]
Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

What does IE 8 say about Web development in China?

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) was released late last week – another browser, “whoop-dee-do”, right? Well maybe, but, the new browser release is an interesting insight into the way Web development seems to happen in China. In non-geek speak the new browser uses a new rendering engine which more closely follows open standards such as [...]
Posted in Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Top ten bottles of red under 100RMB

One of the constant grumblings of lush expats in Shanghai (guys like me, I’m a guy like me) is the lack of decent ‘drink now’ red wines available for a reasonable cost. The casual bottle you can regularly buy and pour a cheeky glass or three for dinner, or, swill with a visiting neighbour. Unfortunately, [...]
Posted in Drink, Food | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Photos: Hong Kong Graffiti

One thing you don’t see much of in Shanghai is hip-hop inspired street graffiti. As a massive urban centre, it’s quite an unusual scene compared to other big cities. That’s not to say there isn’t graffiti – I’ve seen slogans in Chinese characters and paintings on public walls but it seems to have a different [...]
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Stop spitting ad from 1950s China

Spitting: It’s bad manners, spreads disease, and illegal in public. Unfortunately, the habit is still rampant in Shanghai with spitting on the streets, public transport, and even on restaurant floors. That’s not to say authorities haven’t tried to curb the problem – take this ad from the 1950s for example:
Posted in Odd, People | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Shanzhai Panda

Ah, isn’t this video cute? It took me almost a minute to notice the panda was walking around like a pet dog. Exactly like a pet dog.
Posted in Odd | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Will China vote Ying or Yi for the “Best Job in the World”?

Meet Yao Yi, a 30-something year old from Guangdong, and Yu Ying, a media professional and documentary maker from Beijing. They’re the lucky Chinese candidates shortlisted from over 34,000 YouTube video entries submitted from all over the globe for the ‘best job in the world’ – Caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. [...]
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The Shanzhai Tank

Okay, it’s a mini-tank, but this week’s eye on “Eye on Shanzhai” looks at this remote control tank that sounds remarkably like a lawnmower and even shoots.
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What does Australia mean in Chinese?

One of the first things I learnt in Chinese class a while back was “Wo shi Ao Da li ya ren” – meaning “I am Australian”. It’s a good ice breaker when speaking to locals because many assume you are American or European. It usually follows a similar conversation you’d have in parts of America [...]
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Why doesn’t outdoor advertising meet digital in China?

Excuse me while I put on my marketing and semi-serious hat on today. Walking around Shanghai and other large cities in Asia and you’ll see eyefulls (yeah, so what if that isn’t a word) of outdoor advertising. In fact, you’ll see outdoor advertising on top of outdoor advertising. With so many people living and working [...]
Posted in Technology | Tagged , | 2 Comments