Protesters occupying Hong Kong’s city plaza have won — sort of. Wall Street Journal reports people are feeling “mixed jubilation and frustration” after the city announced yesterday it will make its controversial National Education curriculum “voluntary.” While it’s too early to unravel all the implications of this decision, a direct result is that those on their hunger... Read more »Read more »
Here’s something new: the website This is Africa is presenting a monthly “short-doc series” called Africa in China. The first episode was posted on Thursday, featuring Sierra Leonean Mariatu Kargbo, a 2009 Miss World competitor who was supposedly the first foreigner to perform face-changing in China (bian lian), and Gabonese actor Luc Bendza, sometimes called the “African Bruce... Read more »Read more »
This is very cool. Posted last month to YouTube and Youku and recently blogged by NeochaEDGE, "A Fox Tale" is a short animation made last year by four Chinese students in France's Supinfocom Arles (one of them being Chinese). It represents what people here mean when they say "soft power," though we'd be doing a disservice to the film to attach it to such an overtly political phrase. Just enjoy. Read more »
Last month we brought you a draft version of a rather incredible survey called the “Questionaire on the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC)” [sic]. We were told that “exquisite prizes will be presented to 3000 winners selected out of the overseas participants,” which seemed absurd. Were they expecting 10,000 respondents? Even so,... Read more »Read more »
Our first edition of Saturday Morning Cartoon features a short animation from Episode 25 of Gao Xiaosong's show Xiao Shuo, which Jim Fields wrote about on Sunday. (You'll remember it was the episode in which Gao Xiaosong talked about black people -- specifically those in America -- and we were reminded that Michael Jordan is black.) Highlights of this animation include: how to prevent a mugger from firing his gun; how to defend against a knife attack; and, "Raise your right leg, aggressively kick the groin." Read more »
We all know shit happens. But when it happens four times? That's a higher power telling you to stop being you.
This video is a blast from the past, specifically September 12, 2009 (original Tudou video after the jump for those in China). It's worth sharing now as a reminder that talent and intelligence are important, but nothing is more important than perseverance. When you fall, get back up. When you fall again, get back up again. When you fall yet again, get back up and try again again. When you fall a fourth time... well shit, son, who do we mail your future Darwin Award to? Read more »
What the heck happened to the Yangtze River? Granted, part of the Yangtze is called the Tuotuo — derived from the Mongolian name that means frothy red river – but this is a little much. On Thursday, residents of Chongqing woke up to find their beloved river the color of — pardon the dramatics — blood. Was Death... Read more »Read more »
The big show of the weekend is The Creators Project, tomorrow and Sunday at Ullens Center for Contemporary Art at 798 Art Zone, headlined by former LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy as DJ. Other bands that will perform include Real Estate, The Chromatics, Duck Fight Goose (which we’ll feature in tomorrow’s Outro) from Shanghai, and Beijing-based experimental group CNdy.... Read more »Read more »
Somewhere down the line, I'm not sure when or where, beauty pageants stopped being about who was the most physically attractive and instead, in theory, about who was the most all-around beautiful, taking into account personality, skills, and one's sincerity in wishing for world peace. Read more »
