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I don't normally go for the straight Chinglish stuff, but this one is worth sharing. Via Language Log:   Full explanation at Language Log. A better translation of this might be, ''The world's biggest sporting celebration is about to burst forth!'' But even so, the copy writing is, shall we say, unfortunate. Hat tip: Bishop Joey

Like a giant kid who's been holding a fart in during a three week elevator ride, Beijing has apparently relaxed its many industrial sphincters and let a big one rip. That's the only way I can explain the lighting-fast deterioration in air quality. In the space of about 36 hours the skies have transformed from the Olympic blue we all got perhaps ...

For those who are a bit weary of the whole idea of corporate pavilions, Media magazine has a witty review of the pavilions of all of the Olympic TOP sponsors. Each is helpfully compared to the Olympic athlete or icon that it most resembles. Two examples:China MobileSMS a vote on your favourite Olympic photograph and receive a set of stickers and ...

A hysterical, must-watch video ''news'' segment from satirical newspaper The Onion, which excels at humor that stings because it skirts the edge of first-glance credibility. Hat tip: Brendan O'Kane.    

Showing that there is no level of micromanagement too infinitesimal for the Olympics, the Beijing city government has issued detailed (and I mean detailed) instructions on personal grooming and behavior to millions of households. From the Times (UK): “Men’s hair should not cover their eyebrows, ears or touch their collar,” the guide says. ...

Imagethief realizes that he and much of the journalistic and blogging community have been doing a grave disservice to our readers who don't live in Beijing. We beg your forgiveness. Living in Beijing is such an all-consuming experience that we sometimes forget there is a world beyond the fifth ring road. Although we are, of course, tangentially ...

There is no such thing as a dull year in China. 2008 is well underway and already looks like another whopper. We're only a month in and we've already had the biggest storms in half a century. The Olympics, the mother of all China events, is now a scant seven months off. God only knows what will happen in between. But before we get too far into ...

When Imagethief read the words ''model truss'' in the headline of an article on China.org.cn, he had an immediate flashback to the hernia repair operation he had nine or ten years ago. In fact, I never needed a truss (it wasn't that bad a hernia), but I do have a Dacron patch in my abdomen to this day. Or so they tell me. It turned out to have ...

Via Danwei, here is the new mascot for Shanghai World Expo:   Who appears the product of cross-breeding plasticine TV legend Gumby...   ...with Izzy, the 1996 Atlanta Olympic mascot: Gumby and Izzy both being somewhat gender-neutral, the only remaining question is, who was the bitch? With that tail and grin on Izzy, I'd have to ...

As the expectant father of a baby boy (first week of March if all goes well), Imagethief was interested to see the following brief AP article: BEIJING -- The upcoming Beijing Olympics is more than just a point of pride for China - it's such an important part of the national consciousness that nearly 3,500 children have been named for the ...