Obama-Mania.... and Fried Chicken

In the often-surreal world that is Asia, comes a new brand of pirated goods, "Obama Fried Chicken".

The NAACP would have a field day with this one :)

Apparently Mr. Obama, having found the Presidency to be less enjoyable that he imagined, has flown to China to try his hand in showing up the Colonel in the Fried Chicken game....

After reviewing his Presidential performance, I think I'll stick to Mr. Sanders.  ;-)

------------------>From the news---------------------------------------->
To OFC the current KFC China has issued a statement in English saying KFC has no relationship with “OFC”, and “OFC” has already violated Kentucky’s trademark, they will take legal measures.

There are a lot of people saying KFC has over-reacted, the students starting their own business, and it is very creative, KFC is being too serious.
<-------------------------------------------End<----------------------------------

(Adam climbs up on his soap box)

Ahem...

This of course, is one of the key problems in Chinese thinking... no, it's not really OK to copy people's ideas, even if that's just fried Chicken.

Why would anyone ever want to create something if someone else is just going to copy it and not be punished?

So in a land of over a billion people, innovation and creativity die... which is good for the west, because creativity and high quality are like the only weapon we have against cheap labor!

Adieu to the Beijing Belly

As fall approaches and the summer days come to an end here in Beijing, there are a lot of goodbyes for this old foreigner to say, one of which is to...

The Beijing Belly

(There she blows!!!)

It seems to be a strange combination of the 80's half shirt and the clampits. What it lacks in style, it gains is sure boldness, pride in one's... body... or something... and a general statement of "I don't care what you think, look at my better side!"

It strikes when you least expect it.

Relaxing in the park? BAM! Beijing Belly

Riding in the cab? POW! Old man with hairy belly button coming towards you.

Crossing the street! ZAP! Tear out your eyes to stop the pain.

Sigh... the short skirts will be missed... the Beijing Belly... not so much.

NOTE: These are not my pictures... I tried many times to do it, but it just felt weird to snap a dudes pot belly in open daylight. But exist it does, and catch you it will....

Don't Forget Your Purse!

Being someone who tries to be of the "modern world" and all that, I have made peace with (and frequently use) the whole "Satchel Bag" or "Man Bag" or whatever it is that people like to call it these days.

BUT!

Coming into work one day, I saw three guys that made me notice a new trend (at least here in China) that I don't think I can ever embrace... Women's purses/bags being used by dudes?

Yikes... since I noticed it that day, I see it everywhere!

Guys... I realize it might be convenient but...  you GOTTA be a man on SOME things in life!

I know I know... it's a culture/gender learning thing right?

Yea, well, maybe for a reason, it's universal :-)

Suck it up and be a dude! 

We used to say "Don't forget your purse" when guys were whining and complaining.. I never thought it could actually be true!

The FLOOD!

 As you may know, it rarely rains in Beijing, and especially in the last few years (I'm sure you've heard the news reports of drought over here).

So last week when it finally did rain, it REALLY rained, and the city flooded.

This is mostly because Beijing's drainage system.... NOT good.

Not because it's clogged or old or etc - it just DOESN'T exist in many areas, or it's totally inadequate in most.

I guess they decided they could design it for the most common rains in Beijing? It usually rains short and only a bit, so anything like an average NY rain will cause small lakes in the road.

A flood like this... aiyo....!

At first I thought the images were fake, but they ARE real! They are from the Chinese Twitter (Weibo).

One of my staff was unable to get a cab because they were either all taken or literally waved her off, saying they didn't want to drive in this mess and they were just going home.

She couldn't take the subway because her line was flooded.

So we had a dinner, hoping it would get better... and after dinner we remembered... Beijing's drainage system... not good.

After about 2 hours looking for taxis in the rain, she ended up sleeping in a hotel next to the office... and I walked home. :)

Graffiti = = Art?

I don't like graffiti, but if I need to see it, I'd at least like to see ART!

















I should start off by saying that I NEVER liked graffiti, so I might be a bit biased here... but for me, little is  worse than the graffiti all over Beijing - and the patches of color from the painter that comes by once a week to cover it up!

In the first picture here, they actually painted the whole wall because there was so much graffiti on it (that's the gray/white stripe you see in the middle) but alas, days later it was covered again, so you can see the multi-patched paint over it, to cover the graffiti again.

I wonder how many layers are there? :)

Even the street is not safe!

The second picture shows that it's on the street too! And the same game goes on - with the painting first, then it's covered up, then painted again, then covered up...

So what is this graffiti?

Telephone numbers....!

Things like:

"lose weight - call this number"
"air conditioners - tel #"

 "pirated (stolen) satellite TV - tel #"

"fake tax receipts (for government taxes) - tel #"

Sometimes they JUST have a number!!

I guess Chinese people know what it's about?

I personally would prefer little flowers painted on the street or sunshines on the side of a building to this!

I don't like graffiti, but if I need to see it, I'd at least like to see ART!

I've only seen art graffiti in Beijing once, although I've heard there is a "place" where there is a lot of it.

3 years in a city and only phone numbers painted everywhere ;-)

Don't Eat the Seeds~

Not a terribly shocking or cultural post today... even I (as a New Yorker) get tired of complaining from time to time! ;-)

I just saw a really cool piece of art and wanted to share with you all - notice:

1 - it's actually art - meaning people see it and are impressed with it's design, not disgusted, confused or compelled to act like they see the "deeper meaning" :-)

2 - it looks really real! Even when I was standing there, I wanted to take a bite!

This was at a place called "Xin Guang Tian Di" (新光天地）, which I think is a Taiwan brand of high-end malls.

They always have some sort of ridiculous show or store opening here, with wine, music, models and etc, out in the middle of the mall BUT roped off so that anyone walking by can see the people enjoying themselves but not dare to enter lest a guard stop you.

But on the top floor, they always have this open art gallery for people to walk around and look at. It's my favorite part of the mall, and open to snobs and common-folk alike. :)

~Fresh Air~

 The winter has been chilly, but snow-less as well, and being one who prefers to see snowflake-free days, I'm thankful for that. It's also been less than the freezing cold temperatures we had when I was back in New York during Christmas, so it really is difficult to complain there.

With all that said, the "clear skies" have been touch and go. And when the sky is a color other than blue, it can be VERY cloudy gray indeed.

Even skyscrapers that are a block away can disappear from sight in blanket of pollution and sand.

But hey, it makes for great photos! The lights from signs makes a cool hazy "glow" on the horizon... psychedelic. ;)