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February 2006 - Posts

Moonlighting musical flack questions Stones' credibility

Posted Tuesday, February 28, 2006 9:23 PM by will
Imagethief enjoys a good rock concert. Well, no that's bullshit. Imagethief used to enjoy a good rock concert. But as he creeps toward forty he is starting to find the whole idea of rock concerts --especially the larger arena-rock concerts-- tedious and Read More...
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Singapore is off the "@" hook!

Posted Tuesday, February 28, 2006 5:50 AM by will
Yes, it's true, thanks to this announcement from the digital media and direct marketing arm of communications empire Ogilvy: New firm to tap into digital consulting OgilvyOne Worldwide, a one-to-one marketing network, yesterday announced the launch of Read More...
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How to really improve the Internet for China's blind men

Posted Tuesday, February 28, 2006 5:38 AM by will
Imagethief was fascinated to stumble across an article on Xinhua this morning covering the development of technology here in China to enable blind men to surf the Internet (the article was specific about men) . The odd gender-emphasis aside, this is noble Read More...
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Shock news: Censorship is good for business

Posted Monday, February 27, 2006 8:54 PM by will
Imagethief was interested to see in this morning's China Daily a report from a seminar held earlier this week by the Internet Society of China in Hainan. From the article, the annual meeting of the Internet Information Service Commission was a shining Read More...
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Chinese street food fads

Posted Monday, February 27, 2006 7:39 AM by will
The Shanghaist's Peijin Chen beat me to writing about Diaozha Shaobing / Tujia Shaobing : Some of you have probably already seen stores and street vendors selling these things for about 3 yuan apiece. Apparently it's caught on big in Beijing and other Read More...
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Roger Rabbit banned yet the Xinhua lemur-bra is OK

Posted Monday, February 27, 2006 4:42 AM by will
So combining live actors and cartoons is a deadly sin, but it's still OK for the state news agency to publish a photo of a t*pless woman clutching a lemur gibbon to her bare chest: Ya gotta love this country. More Xinhua "Beauties with Animals" here . Read More...
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Monday PR Blog: The disappointing silence from the top

Posted Sunday, February 26, 2006 8:32 PM by will
It's been nearly two weeks since representatives of Cisco, Microsoft, Yahoo and Google testified before the House Subcommittee on Human Rights about their various entanglements with China. As expected, after blowing hot in the run-up to the testimony, Read More...
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Who banned Roger Rabbit?

Posted Thursday, February 23, 2006 9:05 PM by will
One of the fascinating things about living in China is that some of the laws and restrictions seem, for lack of a better word, looney. "Looney", as in "Looney Tunes", is a particularly appropriate word in this case, as the ban-du-jour applies to cartoons. Read More...
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Friday PR Blog: Quick thoughts on Chinese media Google-trashing

Posted Thursday, February 23, 2006 8:52 PM by will
Yesterday there was a story in the Washington Post pointing out a the rash of anti-Google stories that have appeared in the Chinese press. Among these are the questions raised in the Beijing News concerning the validity of Google's license as a Chinese Read More...
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The strategic grammar limitation talks

Posted Wednesday, February 22, 2006 11:43 PM by will
Yesterday Imagethief had lunch with four of his Chinese colleagues. In deference to one woman, who was a little self-conscious about her English skills, much of the conversation was held in Mandarin. This will show you where I sit on the sympathy ladder, Read More...
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Kai Tak white-knuckle nostalgia

Posted Wednesday, February 22, 2006 8:46 PM by will
Anyone who remembers making landings at Hong Kong's old Kai Tak airport should hop on over to Simon World for little photographic burst of nostalgia. As I wrote in his comment section: Many people think the decline of Hong Kong started with either the Read More...
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A journalist's perspective on covering China

Posted Wednesday, February 22, 2006 7:33 AM by will
Richard Spencer, the Beijing correspondent for the UK newspaper The Telegraph, has written a lengthy blog post on his perceptions of China, and how they influence how he covers the country. He wrote this in response to questions from a Chinese student Read More...
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How to look like an albino leper at thirty thousand feet

Posted Tuesday, February 21, 2006 9:09 PM by will
I am now sitting on China Southern’s “newest Airbus A330”. I know it’s the newest as the stewardess felt compelled (or, more likely, was compelled) to get on the PA and tell us all about how new, modern and wonderful it is. I’m on this plane because I Read More...
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The fire and the smoke: Yuanxiaojie photographs

Posted Saturday, February 18, 2006 3:22 AM by will
Gallery here , or click on any of the thumbnails. Last Sunday was Yuanxiaojie, the sweet-dumping eating festival, which marks the end of the traditional two-week observance of Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). In Beijing, after a ban lasting several Read More...
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Bank of China and the vanishing $5000

Posted Friday, February 17, 2006 1:12 AM by will
One of the reasons why living in China is such an adventure is that purely random, inexplicable crap is prone to happen from time to time. Much of this is the inevitable result of living in the country which invented the concept of bureaucracy 5,000 years Read More...
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Thursday PR blog: Blam! Oops!

Posted Wednesday, February 15, 2006 9:24 PM by will
Both barrels? Imagethief will remain aloof from the petty, partisan assaults on Vice President Dick Cheney concerning his delay in reporting the shooting of his hunting buddy, Harry "Bullseye" Whittington. Instead, Imagethief, despite warm shivers of Read More...
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Wednesday PR blog: Relax - China is simply adhering to "world norms"

Posted Wednesday, February 15, 2006 5:56 AM by will
Imagethief begs -- begs! -- the Chinese government to contact his firm for professional PR help before they dig themselves any deeper a hole on this Internet censorship issue. I realize, what with American Internet firms on the eve of their populist pillorying Read More...
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The St. Valentine's day subway massacre

Posted Tuesday, February 14, 2006 8:37 PM by will
Anyone who lives in Asia knows that this is where dying, American brands go to eke out a precious few last years of life in the sun before finally drifting off to the great mall in the sky. This idea perhaps reached its apex in the fictional form of Spinal Read More...
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Chinese medicine puts the squeeze on Imagethief

Posted Monday, February 13, 2006 8:36 PM by will
There, now. Doesn't that feel better? Imagethief is a strapping manly-man, and spends long hours in the gym perfecting his Adonis-like physique. Occasionally, however, his enthusiasm gets the better of him, and he tries to hoist a few kilos too many. Read More...
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Hard to get too excited...

Posted Monday, February 13, 2006 6:49 AM by will
What with all the hullaballoo, I always thought China's trade surplus would be bigger: From this article . AFP guys, are you watching what the China Daily is doing to your wire reports? The correct number is in the copy, below the headline. Read More...
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Nanny takes to the skies

Posted Monday, February 13, 2006 6:13 AM by will
Imagethief isn't a frequent flyer, but he is at least a regular one. That's why he was interested to see on Xinhua today this article (from Saturday) on China Airlines' plan to outfit its fifteen 747s with Internet access, courtesy of the "Connexion by Read More...
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Holiday PR blog: Mocking the prophet

Posted Sunday, February 12, 2006 5:25 AM by will
Imagethief comes to this issue a little late, but my vacation has slowed my output somewhat. PR teaches you to consider the consequences of any communication*, and one of the golden rules is that there are plenty of situations in which the best thing Read More...
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Ten things to love about Singapore

Posted Thursday, February 09, 2006 10:36 AM by will
Beautiful girls, attractively dressed. Woop-woop birds (starlings) at dawn and raintrees full of mynah birds at dusk. Air conditioned subway. The enormous sign hanging over the entrance to a seedy, Geylang bar that reads, "Welcome USA Sailors!" Number Read More...
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BadBranding@Singapore

Posted Sunday, February 05, 2006 2:20 AM by will
I love coming back to my adopted home of Singapore. Always languid and green, Singapore makes an invigorating break from the smoggy bustle of Beijing. Yet whenever I return it doesn't take long for me to be reminded of some of the niggling, little annoyances Read More...
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This continent ain't big enough for the both of us

Posted Friday, February 03, 2006 9:32 PM by will
After ten years in this part of the world, I have come to a stunning conclusion: Asia is just too goddamned small. One of the reasons I left Singapore to go to China is that I was overcome by a creeping sense of claustrophobia. After building almost my Read More...
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