The Official Red Dawn Trailer Is Here, And It Features A Grammatical Mistake Within The First Eight Seconds

Red Dawn trailer featured image
I can't wait for Chinese people to overreact to this shitty movie full of Hollywood cliches about "freedom" and for everyone else to talk about it like it isn't a classic piece of Western propaganda. What's that? The invaders in the movie are North Koreans, not Chinese? Every soldier I see better look skinny and malnourished then, because I've been to Pyongyang, and that military is far from invading anyone. I wonder how many Americans who watch this will find the irony in a bunch of civilians fighting for their turf against an invading military.

Friday Night Musical Outro: Free The Birds – Take It Off

Free The Birds – Take It Off
The first time I saw Helen Feng (冯海宁) on stage, she delivered, bar none, the most convincing impression of a coked up rock star I'd seen in Beijing. Spotting her after the show -- this is when she was still with Pet Conspiracy -- it was clear she was not, in fact, under the influence of hard drugs, but the performance was part of her charm and her skill, her ability to fully inhabit the stage and make it impossible for you to take your eyes off her.

Olympic Links: Former NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol’s only Olympics interview, rogue condoms, and all about ping-pong

Nike - Bieber
Part of Nike’s “Live the Greatness” campaign (“Who says the toughest opponent isn’t the best teammate”), via cfensi As track and field takes center stage in London, a reminder that some exciting team sports will be wrapping up soon, including men’s soccer (Mexico vs. Brazil final tomorrow, though South Korea vs. Japan for the bronze... Read more »

Friday Links: Gu Kailai has balls, Shanghai cabbie sexually assaults drunk foreigner, and “Communist State of Mind” (Sung To Jay-Z)

Screenshot via MSNBC
A swinger party for government officials — best or worst type of swinger party? (Via Offbeat China) Mix is celebrating its 10th anniversary tonight and tomorrow with hip-hop concerts, apparently. So, you know, if you want to go to Mix, perhaps this is the weekend for that. Otherwise, non-Olympics links for now, Olympics links forthcoming.

This Morning’s Armed Robber Is A “Hardened Criminal” Who Has Been Wanted For Eight Years

Chongqing armed robbery and murder
Earlier today, a man in Chongqing shot dead one person and injured two others in an attempted robbery outside a Bank of China. Police are still looking for the man, but they’ve identified him as a repeat felony offender who’s somehow still at large. According to Sina: Police have launched a manhunt for the suspect and offer 500,000... Read more »

Fascinating Detailed Summary Of The Gu Kailai Saga, As Presented At Trial

Screenshot via MSNBC
Donald C. Clarke, professor of law at George Washington University, recently translated an account of the Gu Kailai trial and posted it on his website, Chinese Law Prof Blog. The account was written in Chinese by Zhao Xiangcha, titled, “A Record of my Observation of the Murder Trial of BoGu Kailai and Zhang Xiaojun.” Zhao notes... Read more »

An Armed Robber In Chongqing Killed One And Injured Two This Morning [UPDATE]

Chongqing robbery Weibo
A gunman in Chongqing opened fire in front of Bank of China at 9:37 this morning, leaving one dead and two injured. China News Service reports that it was an armed robbery at Shapingba District, on the intersection between Fengmingshan and Kangjuyuan. The picture above, via ifeng, was taken moments after the gunman fled; the man... Read more »