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China: biggest polluter or clean energy leader?
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I came across a cool photo slide show today in the NY Times featuring Applied Materials’ massive solar energy research lab in Xian, China. It’s fascinating to see how China’s full-throttle economy has simultaneously created staggering pollution problems as well as tremendous clean energy innovations. True, most news covers China’s horribly polluted cities–and that by
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| (Published: Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:08:41 +0000) |
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Hugh Jackman can sing in Chinese!
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My favorite wolverine has just gone up in my book. Watch this video of Hugh Jackman, 41, singing a country western song in Mandarin for his upcoming movie Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.
The movie is based on a book authored by Lisa See, 55, a Chinese American author. According to her bio, her grandfather
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| (Published: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:12:15 +0000) |
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Singapore’s sexy bimbo contest just blew my mind
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Wow. I mean, just… wow. I just watched this clip three times and still kept laughing. It’s a clip from the casting for The S Factor, Singapore’s version of America’s Next Top Model. As you know, Emily, Amy and I grew up in Singapore but have all since moved to the US. And this,
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| (Published: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 05:04:30 +0000) |
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World’s shortest man He Pingping passes away at 21
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The shortest man in the world, He Pingping, 21, passed away last Saturday because of heart complications. Born in Inner Mongolia and suffering from a form primordial dwarfism, Ping became famous when he appeared on a Japanese television program in 2007.
Apparently at the time of his birth, Ping fit into the palm of his
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| (Published: Wed, 17 Mar 2010 05:09:43 +0000) |
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Taiwanese guy wins $3.6 million with lucky bracelet
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Fobs are notorious for being superstitious, and looks like Kevin Lu’s lucky crystal bracelet really paid off. Lu recently won $3.6 million on California Lottery’s TV show and, he claims, it’s all thanks to the bracelet his girlfriend gave him. Born in Taiwan, Lu came to the States when he was 12 and is now
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| (Published: Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:15:22 +0000) |
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Fobby heartthrob of the month: Taiwanese magician Liu Qian
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We fobs have our own Criss Angel too! Check out Taiwanese magician, Liu Qian, 33, who is making waves in China after his performance at an annual spring festival event. Gosh this guy just embodies fobulousity with his Asian boyband hair and geeky black plastic-rimmed glasses. He apparently had a hard time finding a job
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| (Published: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:42:20 +0000) |
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No luck with love? Try your pillow
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They say love comes when you least expect it but with Lee Jin-gyu, love has been sharing the same bed with him this whole time. After falling in love, Lee decided to wed his large, huggable “wife” who resembles Fate Testarossa, from the ‘magical girl’ anime series Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha. Their romantic dates include going
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| (Published: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:25:14 +0000) |
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Cardstacker breaks world record with 35-ft replica of Macau casino
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Bryan Berg, a 34-year old American, just broke his own record for the highest free-standing card structure. His latest masterpiece? A 35-foot replica of the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel. The real hotel spans 1.2 million square-feet and is the world’s largest resort hotel. Berg spent 44 days stacking 218,792 cards to create the elaborate structure.
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| (Published: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:49:18 +0000) |
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Book Review: Warren Liu’s ‘KFC in China’
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It’s pretty amazing how American fast food giant KFC became the leader of the restaurant industry in China, a country known for its culinary arts. Warren Liu’s ‘KFC in China: Secret Recipe for Success” gives us an in-depth glimpse of how the fried chicken heavyweight captured the market share from its inception in 1987. Liu
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| (Published: Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:53:35 +0000) |
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Throw like a girl: Eri Yoshida’s knuckleball impresses Red Sox’s Tim Wakefield
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This isn’t the first time that Eri Yoshida has made an impression–last year the 5′1″ 18-year old became the first female to be drafted into a professional Japanese baseball team. But on Tuesday, Yoshida received the chance to pitch with her childhood idol, Boston Red Sox’s Tim Wakefield.
“I’m impressed,” Wakefield told ESPN.
As a kid, Yoshida
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| (Published: Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:37:55 +0000) |
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Forget Vicks. Clear your sinuses with your cellphone ringtone!
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I don’t even know how the Japanese think of these things, but it looks like there’s now an innovative way to clear stuffy noses. For those of you dreading spring fever, check out the “Hana Sukkiri Melody” (literally, “cleared up nose” Melody) ringtone. The resonating sounds are apparently capable of shaking out the pollen in
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| (Published: Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:59:21 +0000) |
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Follow the Dalai Lama on Twitter
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It seems like everyone and their mom is using Twitter, and the Tibetan spiritual leader is no exception. I think it’s great that he’s open to new ideas and is exploring the world of social networking sites. In the case of the Dalai Lama, his tweets are disappointingly impersonal. However, I guess it’s a good
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| (Published: Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:49:53 +0000) |
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Singaporean coffee protects smokers from cancer
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Wow, not only does Singaporean coffee, or kopi, taste damn good, but it apparently has desirable health benefits too. A study by the University of Minnesota has found that drinking two cups daily will help stave off advanced colon cancer for smokers.
Sabrina Peterson from the University of Minnesota says:
“Singapore Chinese prepare coffee in a way
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| (Published: Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:59:04 +0000) |
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Japanese gadget will help detect true age of your blind date
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Ever been suspicious of your date shaving more than a few years off his or her age? “These aren’t age spots. They are just large freckles!” Sound familiar? Well the Japanese have come up with this $10 gadget that will detect the age-liars; a perfect addition to your dating arsenal.
The age prediction machine releases a
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| (Published: Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:58:30 +0000) |
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Jero: the first black Enka singer in Japan
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We’re now at the end of black history month, and we thought it would be nice to talk about an African American who made a huge splash in Japan, changing the face of Japanese music history forever: Jero. I remember first hearing Jero’s debut single, Umiyuki, two years ago and being immediately blown away by
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| (Published: Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:42:03 +0000) |
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Fob revelation: I now know what a spork is
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Last night, I was chatting with Suzie and a few friends over drinks when the topic of sporks came up. Initially I thought it was just a fobby slip of the tongue. But no, I did hear right. Sporks actually do exist! Apparently, this ingenious utensil is deeply enmeshed in American culture… and I’ve been
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| (Published: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:53:50 +0000) |
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Melbourne hopes racial reconciliation starts with “Vindaloo Against Violence”
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Last May, Melbourne saw a string of attacks against Indians, the violence peaking last month when 21-year old graduate student Nitin Garg was stabbed and murdered. But locals are hoping to patch minority and immigrant relations, taking a stand against racism today by having a “Vindaloo Against Violence.” The campaign encourages people to dine at
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| (Published: Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:03:43 +0000) |
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Rice bowls in love
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It’s Christmas and love is in the air, especially in Japan. Christmas eve is the one of the most romantic nights of the year in the land of the rising sun, because it is known to be a holiday for couples. I spotted the perfect gift for this occasion in a general merchandise store in
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| (Published: Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:35:10 +0000) |
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Japanese McDonald’s signs makes things easy for people
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I was standing at a crosswalk in Shinjuku when I spotted this huge McDonald’s sign. It gives you two choices– turn left for a branch 130 meters away or right for one 50 meters away. Japan takes information overload (and McDonald’s overload!) to a whole other level.
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| (Published: Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:23:21 +0000) |
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The Japanese coffee truck
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Forget ice cream trucks! Check out this coffee truck I spotted while I was walking around Daikanyama with my friend Arindam. Motoya Espresso Express has 16 trucks scattered around Tokyo’s hotspots. The company also has six coffee shops and three coffee stands.
Wanna grab a coffee at the yellow truck? Click here for the list of
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| (Published: Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:22:47 +0000) |
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Taekwondo-trained monkeys attack trainer
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The next time you plan on training your monkeys in martial arts, be aware that there’s always that small chance they’ll utilize their learned skills on you! That’s what happened to Lo Wung, who had trained a troop of monkeys in Taekwondo to entertain crowds outside a shopping center in eastern China’s Hubei province. Luckily,
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| (Published: Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:07:36 +0000) |
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A peek into the world of Japanese hostesses
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The other day, I interviewed “Ataru.” He’s a graduate business student who enlightened me more about the quirky subcultures in Japan. He did a few projects on them while in college, and even strayed into some of those worlds on occasion. A few days ago, we had a conversation about hostesses in Japan. He was
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| (Published: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:21:32 +0000) |
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Yotaro the creepy fake baby
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Check out this video of Yotaro, the freaky baby simulator, created by researchers at the University of Tsukuba. Yotaro mimics facial expressions, movements and psychological traits of human babies. He even expels virtual snot, just like real babies!
(Thanks, DTP!)
Link
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| (Published: Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:34:34 +0000) |
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Power outage? No worries, Vietnam’s electricians come to the rescue!
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I arrived in Vietnam today and after enduring a grueling week of finals and cold, rainy Seattle weather, I am glad to be in the comfort of 80 degree weather and Pho on every corner. Anyway, when it comes to the Vietnamese, I have to say I am amazed at the lack of fear they
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| (Published: Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:07:40 +0000) |
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Cheerleaders hail opening of Singapore’s first Wendy’s
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Personally, I’d rather be feasting on my beloved roti prata, chicken rice, laksa and sambal stingray… but starting this week, Wendy’s cheeseburgers will join Singapore’s diverse food scene. American fast food is increasingly popular in Asia, and Singaporeans often go to air-conditioned places like McDonald’s to hang out or study. I guess you could compare
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| (Published: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:07:25 +0000) |
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NY Times’ cool photo montage of Singapore’s fashionista street
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OK, so I admit I may be the only one who thinks things like this are awesome, but I am going back to Singapore in nine days, so humor me. The NY Times’ Travel section just ran a wonderful photo montage of Singapore’s Haji Lane, a little-known street that has apparently become a hub for
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| (Published: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:42:49 +0000) |
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We need another Asian Disney princess!
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I just watched The Princess and the Frog, an amazing movie that left me beaming with Disney princess nostalgia. It’s great to finally see an African-American Disney princess and I think they did it very tastefully (even though some may quibble over Prince Naveen’s hazy ethnic background.) I loved Tiana’s voice, which definitely had a
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| (Published: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 05:03:28 +0000) |
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| ( Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/absolutelyfobulous ) |
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