Avril Lui, photo by Adrian Fisk, via Evan Osnos [New Yorker]
Two very improbable things happened in tonight’s Game 2, and they may not be unrelated: the refs called a fair game, and the visiting team won. Stephon Marbury missed his first six of seven shots, Guangdong’s Aaron Brooks was unstoppable for two quarters and the Ducks got manhandled on the boards all night. Somehow, down 10 heading into the fourth, Beijing won and now lead 2-0 in the series.
Links time.
Just to be clear, in case there is still any confusion: there was no coup this week in Beijing. But this is still a good read: “But the wall of secrecy that Communist Party leadership has built around itself also prevents the development of trust between the government, media and public. It leaves the media with no one to talk to and get real information from when there’s a wild rumour floating about, like the continuing – and so far unfounded – talk that some kind of coup d’état was attempted Monday night in Beijing. And it leaves the public unsure of what to believe in such situations.” [Mark MacKinnon, Globe and Mail]
Corollary: “Panic spreads in Beijing for some reason.” [China Daily Show]
Gripping photos of “a modern Chinese tragedy.” Perhaps you can guess: it’s about chai – demolition. [QQ News, via Shanghaiist]
“American Dream,” huh? That tired narrative is what you chose to go with? I think some combination of NBC, Brian Williams and Rock Center’s producers just realized it’s possible for people to step onto a plane and live in a place called “China.” [MSNBC]
It was inevitable that someone would eventually poke around the Chinese factories of other American companies, but we’re glad it was Mother Jones to do it. “Our fiction-free investigation finds that in many cases, the company’s auditors are asleep on the job.” [Andy Kroll, Mother Jones]
Congressman Walter Jones called China “Uncle Chang,” but hopefully people don’t think this is supposed to signify something. “Is referring to China as ‘Uncle Chang’ racist or just silly? I’m leaning more towards silly. I think a more racist remark would be if he was to refer to China as ‘Uncle Ching Chong‘ and certainly if he had used ‘Uncle Chink.’” [8Asians]
On HIV/AIDS: “Almost every country in the world has faced an HIV blood disaster early in the epidemic. AIDS denialism, the stigma surrounding the epidemic, and ignorance of how the virus was transmitted all contributed to the transmission of HIV through blood supplies. In many countries, the blood disasters affected a few dozen or a few hundred people. In Japan, France and Germany, victims numbered in the thousands. China’s blood disaster affected more individuals than in all other countries combined.” [Meg Davis of Asia Catalyst writing on China Geeks]
Matt Groening in Shanghai: “Celebrity guests usually don’t ask or comment about how they want to be depicted, Groening said. Yao Ming was one of the few who did. ‘Don’t draw me as a monster,’ Groening quoted the ex NBA star as saying. // ‘There have been a few cases of censorship over the years, times the (Fox TV) executives didn’t like what we did, but we rarely lose,’ Groening said. ‘We always win.’” [Shanghai Daily]
If you’re interested in an article about Asian Americans in Asia with quotes such as, “The Chinese ‘don’t distinguish between nationality and ethnicity’” and “The Chinese have a different way of communicating,” here it is. [MSNBC]
Here’s your Tigon in China interlude, via Buzzfeed:
Finally…
Adam Minter on Ira Glass (and Mike Daisey). [Shanghai Scrap]
Via above: Tim Culpan on Foxconn. [Bloomberg]
Another Jim Yardley excerpt of his book on the CBA. [Grantland]
Stephon Marbury, as seen in American media. [Sports Illustrated]
re: “American Dream” – What about that isn’t the American Dream to those ‘mericans that have lived here a while? MSNBC is ahead of their time for calling it such. Opening a brewery and hosting a thriving community of parched beer lovers is already overdone in the US, but it was overdue here in Beijing. Some years ago there were only two or three places that produced their own beer, but they’ve since faded away (Topers, near the Boat) or have failed to produce anything that keeps folks coming back (Goose and Duck, Saddle Cantina, and probably others). Great Leap was one of the best things to ever happen to this city, but don’t take this laowai’s word for it. Great Leap, at its peak last summer, was host to many Chinese clients, including some very influential young stars like the host of MTV China, the guys who ran Section 6, Li Bingbing’s entourage of douche bags and bitches, and a lot of Chinese who studied/worked abroad and yearned for a taste of something more than the local swill and overdone foreign imports. American Dream, indeed.
I dunno… USA Today had this story in July 2011. A year and change later, I’d think NBC’s heavyweight news show from Rockefeller Center would come up with more to say than LESS than what everyone else has said. Also, terrible timing. Isn’t Great Leap still closed?
If not… who wants to go drink there soon?
Great Leap re-opened their store front last Saturday the 24th.
And yea, I am in any time you want to go. Bring Drake I want to see what kind of shit we get into.
One of the best arguments that I think you can make for Great Leap is that they make a quality product that was not being provided in this town. I also think that is why places like Homeplate do so well. A high quality product makes all of the difference. I rarely ever go to Nanluoguxiang, but I never used to go, and I have to admit one of the reasons I will now go or will not try to talk people out of going there is because of Great Leap. And I have to give them credit for that.