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May 2006 - Posts

Imagethief blogging for CNET Asia

Posted Wednesday, May 31, 2006 11:49 PM by will
Continuing my relentless expansion from looney, unkempt fringe blogger to globe-spanning media empire (Imagethief Inc.) I am pleased to announce the launch of my new China technology blog on CNET Asia. Launched under the slightly regrettable name of "Little Read More...
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Along the canal

Posted Tuesday, May 30, 2006 2:16 AM by will
Some years ago, the government of my previous adopted home of Singapore had an epiphany. They realized that people like rivers and canals, and would pay a premium to live along them, especially if their banks had been developed into pleasant recreational Read More...
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Smoke your way to military supremacy

Posted Monday, May 29, 2006 6:25 AM by will
Imagethief would like thank Reuters for picking up Xinhua news story on how China is vowing to make the 2008 Olympics smoke free. It's good to be reminded, from time to time, that the human spirit is measured in our willingness to undertake completely Read More...
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The snack that burns twice as bright burns half as long

Posted Saturday, May 27, 2006 1:10 AM by will
From Danwei's Joel Martinsen, the fast rise, brief life and untimely demise of the tujia shaobing craze: A survey undertaken by the Mirror evening newspaper found that the market for Tujia shaobing - the so-called "Chinese Pizza" - is saturated, leading Read More...
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It's the Chinese military! Aieeee!

Posted Saturday, May 27, 2006 12:07 AM by will
An interesting story from Slate debunking some of the Pentagon hysteria and breathless rhetoric over the rise of the Chinese military, and noting the subtly different takes from the Quadrennial Defense Review published last February and the annual Defense Read More...
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Official: Chinese not so tough to learn

Posted Friday, May 26, 2006 7:00 AM by will
Imagethief was dismayed to learn from Chinese state news service Xinhua that Chinese is not, after all, such a tough language to learn. After four years of banging my head against this language like some kind of intellectual brick wall, it is clear that Read More...
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How do those crazy stories get started?

Posted Friday, May 26, 2006 2:58 AM by will
It's those sinister "foreign bloggers" again. Man, those people are everywhere. They have to be stopped. Preferably by barricading their apartments with wheelbarrows full of hush money and tequila. But until that happens they'll keep causing a fuss. Just Read More...
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A snack too far

Posted Friday, May 26, 2006 12:13 AM by will
A small lane runs past my apartment block, cutting between our colossal, modern building on one side and the wall of the run-down, danwei-style gated development next door. Once upon a time, this lane led nowhere in particular. You could drive in the Read More...
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Trading with the enemy

Posted Thursday, May 25, 2006 6:35 AM by will
Via Asiapundit , the very funny PJ O'Rourke on America's trade problems with China: The problem with America's China policy is not ideological. True, there is the difficulty of dealing with a single-party state where the entire governmental apparatus Read More...
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2008 Olympics could be funkiest ever

Posted Wednesday, May 24, 2006 10:14 PM by will
Imagethief was heartwarmed to see that famed music producer and composer Quincy Jones has offered to compose a theme for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. As Reuters reports (via China Daily ): "The inspiration of the strong leadership in preparing Read More...
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TTC: Cycle of funk

Posted Wednesday, May 24, 2006 12:46 AM by will
First, a happy birthday to Talk Talk China , the blog for any foreigner who occasionally wonders to themselves, "Why the hell did I come here?" And, let's face it, no matter how much we like living in the Grand Adventure that is China, we all wonder that Read More...
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Great moments in international diplomacy

Posted Tuesday, May 23, 2006 2:18 AM by will
Hey, Angela, smell my finger! Read More...
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The cleaner

Posted Tuesday, May 23, 2006 12:38 AM by will
Once of the nice things about living in Asia is that it puts what are by American standards ridiculously blue-blooded luxuries into the hands of squarely middle-class prats such as me. Most of these luxuries are things that revolve around the plentiful Read More...
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Story behind the Beijing Olympic stadium

Posted Sunday, May 21, 2006 7:13 AM by will
A long but fascinating story in this weekend's New York Times Magazine tells the story of the Swiss architects who designed Beijing's fantastic-looking Olympic stadium, known as "the bird's nest": To optimize view lines and place spectators closer to Read More...
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Imagethief and the hell of yurts: A Xinjiang travelogue, part two

Posted Saturday, May 20, 2006 7:18 AM by will
Note : Because it’s taking me a while to write this, I am serializing it. This is the second instalment. All the accompanying photos are here . Previously: Part One: The town at the far end of China Part Two: A Roaring Trade in Fat-Assed Sheep After rambling Read More...
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A few interesting stories

Posted Saturday, May 20, 2006 12:53 AM by will
After a busy week (and a nasty Friday flu) I had a chance to catch up on news and blogs. Some interesting stories from today and the past couple of days. Most are China related, a couple are not. All are interesting. Niger Delta in flames An awful place Read More...
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Sounds of old Beijing

Posted Thursday, May 18, 2006 5:48 AM by will
Imagethief did radio for a long time and he still has an appreciation for a story told with sound. That's why he was pleased when his mom, a regular NPR listener, sent him a link to an NPR story on how many of the sounds of traditional Beijing --pigeon Read More...
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How to make your house just like the Forbidden City

Posted Thursday, May 18, 2006 5:05 AM by will
Imagethief was agog today to see in the China Daily that the portrait of Mao that inspired the original, giant uber-portrait of Mao that once hung over the Forbidden City's Gate of Heavenly Peace is going up for auction: Historical Chairman Mao portrait Read More...
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China Daily caption of the week

Posted Wednesday, May 17, 2006 7:46 AM by will
"The curvaceous naked body of the university girl looks strikingly smooth against a backdrop of rough soil, grass tufts, a peaceful lake, and a cluster of lenses and flashes..." More here , if you must. Read More...
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Ten things to like about Beijing in summer

Posted Wednesday, May 17, 2006 7:16 AM by will
Because warm weather is here, and on days when the heat is unbearable and the air unbreathable I need to remind myself of the good things: Sweet yogurt in little earthenware jars Lazy evenings of lakeside beers All the ice cream sticks you can eat, in Read More...
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Wednesday PR blog: Shanghai commits ironic PR suicide

Posted Wednesday, May 17, 2006 1:01 AM by will
Imagethief finds few things more entertaining than ironic PR suicide. Well, strictly speaking that's not true. Imagethief finds many things more entertaining than ironic PR suicide, and he'll send you a list if you're interested. But it's generally good Read More...
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Tuesday PR blog: Utter lack of commitment to China

Posted Monday, May 15, 2006 10:53 PM by will
Imagethief has had it up to here with "commitment to China". As a spin doctor for various multinational companies in China, Imagethief spends an inordinate amount of time working on press releases, speeches and other pieces of communication that emphasize Read More...
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Baidupedia revisted

Posted Monday, May 15, 2006 9:10 AM by will
Mure Dickie, of the Financial Times , has written an interesting follow-up to his original article (subscription) on Baidupedia analyzing the different content management (read: censorship) approaches of Wikipedia and Baidupedia. It's been picked up by Read More...
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Balls of steel

Posted Monday, May 15, 2006 8:53 AM by will
Imagethief, a graduate of that fine academic institution, the University of California at Santa Cruz, is all for nudity. In fact, I have no discernible nudity taboo whatsoever, and my misspent youth is a chronology of coed naked conga lines, naked meadow Read More...
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Monday PR blog: Vicious foreign bosses and the perils of e-mail

Posted Monday, May 15, 2006 1:18 AM by will
Imagethief was interested to read in a VNUNet story last week how the China boss of data storage company EMC became embroiled in a scandal after an e-mail in which he rebuked a secretary and CC'd to several other people within the company went public. Read More...
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Xinjiang photos complete

Posted Sunday, May 14, 2006 7:48 AM by will
All the photos are online now, and can be found here . The first part of the travelogue is also online here . The photograph below is of a beggar at Urumqi's night market. The very last glow of dusk is in the sky. Read More...
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Imagethief and the hell of yurts: A Xinjiang travelogue, part one

Posted Sunday, May 14, 2006 7:30 AM by will
Note : Because it’s going to take me a while to write this, I am going to serialize it. I expect anywhere from one to three more instalments, depending upon my time, probably weekly. All the accompanying photos are here . Part two is here . Part One: Read More...
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The tragic roundabout

Posted Sunday, May 14, 2006 5:19 AM by will
As development has proceeded in my neighborhood, several of what were once dead-end lanes to nowhere on the estate I live in have become through roads connecting such major thoroughfares as Jianway, Dawang Lu and Guanghua Lu. This has been bad for neighborhood Read More...
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Baidupedia

Posted Friday, May 12, 2006 1:01 AM by will
The BBC, referring to an FT article (subscription), reports that Baidu has launched ( proxy link ) it's own user-generated encyclopedia, filling the gap that has existed since the Chinese authorities decided that Wikipedia was a swamp of dangerously controversial Read More...
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You farted

Posted Thursday, May 11, 2006 9:26 PM by will
You farted. There on the subway car this morning, you cracked one off. Silent but deadly, it emerged stealthily and infused the tiny cracks and dank, humid airspaces wedged between our hundreds of bodies. There it overpowered the duelling odors of roubing Read More...
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Bowring on Singapore's election

Posted Thursday, May 11, 2006 7:19 AM by will
Philip Bowring has written a scathing article in the International Herald Tribune analyzing the results of Singapore's recent general election. He looks at the PAP's mechanisms for maintaining it's electoral dominance and the results of the recent election, Read More...
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Snack foods from the provinces

Posted Thursday, May 11, 2006 12:07 AM by will
I love my Chinese colleagues. They're hard working, bright, fun and surprisingly witty. They also have a number of endearing habits, which help to make up for the few not-so-endearing habits, such as the nonstop cacophony of gratingly cute phone rings Read More...
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Sluggish posting but new photos

Posted Wednesday, May 10, 2006 3:40 AM by will
The post vacation rush is proving a bit deadly. The combination of a busy couple of weeks on the day job and a deadline for a piece of --ahem-- paid work mean that Imagethief is getting the short shrift on content right now. Apologies to all regular readers Read More...
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Diamonds are censored

Posted Monday, May 08, 2006 8:33 AM by will
Sometimes Chinese censorship, or the self-censorship undertaken in the name of Chinese government sensibilities, approaches ridiculous levels of self-satire. Imagethief is a slut for James Bond movies, and he has been enjoying Star Movies' recent Bond-o-rama. Read More...
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Xinjiang photos 1: Kashgar

Posted Monday, May 08, 2006 12:46 AM by will
Imagethief is back from his week in Xinjiang, including Kashgar, Lake Karakul, Urumqi and Turpan. For anyone living in China who has not been to Xinjiang, I highly recommend a trip. It feels like Central Asia, but you can get there without the hassle Read More...
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