This Diamond-Encrusted Mercedes-Benz Is Deeply Insecure And Needs Your Attention

Mercedes-Benz in Sanlitun again
Let us first acknowledge that the glittering jewels around the logo and grille are probably fake. But what kind of car would draw attention to itself with such gaudiness? Is it camp? Is it social status? Spotted at Sanlitun on Sunday, this car will never believe it’s beautiful no matter how many leers it attracts. What does deficiency... Read more » Read more »

Beijing Slice, Ep.01: Swimming In Qian Hai

Beijing Slice Ep01 featured image
The Good Doctor and Candice L. have teamed together with some of their long-time Beijing friends to produce a weekly episodic online show called Beijing Slice, which we think you might enjoy. Here’s their first episode, “Swimming in Qian Hai.” Youku video for those in China after the jump. Read more »

Disqualified Yu Yang Tells Badminton Federation “You Guys Heartlessly Shattered Our Dreams,” Announces Retirement, Attributes Disgraceful Last Performance To Teammate’s Knee Injury

Yu Yang announces retirement
Yu Yang’s retirement announcement Hold the phones, everyone. This story isn’t as straightforward as we thought, and it doesn’t seem like Yu Yang completely agrees with the Badminton World Federation’s decision to disqualify her and teammate Wang Xiaoli for match fixing. (Also, she announced her retirement on Tencent Weibo, but we’ll get to that in a... Read more » Read more »

Chinese Fans Support Decision To Disqualify Badminton Players [UPDATE]

Badminton poll
When the Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced yesterday it was disqualifying four teams from the women’s doubles competition for trying to lose, including the world’s top team, China’s Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang, I have to admit my first reaction was fear that this would create more controversy than it would resolve. (Here are match “highlights.”)... Read more » Read more »

Watch: What It Looks Like When Badminton Players Are Trying To Lose

Badminton unsportsmanlike play
Courtesy of Sina, here’s actual Olympic footage! UPDATE, 12:06 pm: They’ve disabled the embed. But you can watch on Sina’s website if you’re within the mainland. The players in the above have, as reported, been disqualified from the tournament. The Indonesian team withdrew its appeal, and the two South Korean teams’ appeals were rejected, according to... Read more » Read more »

Olympics Links: Badminton bombshell: four doubles teams disqualified for match-fixing

Diving censorship
If you’re not up to speed on badminton’s big scandal, first go read this. And then realize that the IOC and Badminton World Federation just dropped the biggest bombshell of these Games by disqualifying four pairs of teams from the quarterfinals for match-fixing, including two teams — both South Korean (what is it with South Koreans... Read more » Read more »