Tag Archive
The Debacle In The East China Sea
We’ve all been hearing a lot about the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands lately, what with all the demonstrations in China after the Japanese government purchased the islands from the Japanese owner. Meanwhile, Taiwan is adding their opinion into the mix since three governments claim this territory. So, what’s really going on? What laws govern island ownership? Who [...]
The US Presidential Election: Coming Right Up!
We’re getting to that time every four years when the United States has their presidential election. Both parties have chosen their nominees, not officially but that will happen soon at the conventions. I thought I’d take as objective a look as I possibly could at each candidate, not so much for our American readers as [...]
USA: Minus the Bear
Minus the Bear is an indie band from Seattle, Washington that I’d like to share with everyone. They’re not new and have been recording for over ten years, but they continue to improve with each new CD including their newest, Infinity Overhead. Here is a track from that album, to be released on August 28th. [...]
USA: Exit Clov
This week is Taiwan’s annual Spring Scream festival, held in Kenting which is located in the very southern part of the island. Started in 1995, it’s become an annual rite of spring for Taiwanese youths, where they can catch the latest musical acts from a variety of styles. This year, making their first appearance at [...]
Taiwan: Joanna Wang 王若琳
From her second album, Joanna & 王若琳, Joanna Wang sings Don McLean’s Vincent. The daughter of music producer Wang Chi-ping (王治平), Joanna was born in Taipei but raised in Los Angeles. At 20 she released her first album, Start From Here, which went #1 in Taiwan and was popular throughout east Asia. Singing in both English [...]
Is Apple Getting A Bad Rap?
It’s in all the headlines. “Protesters Confront Apple Over Foxconn Conditions”, “Apple’s Foxconn Electronics Manufacturer Blamed for Chinese Child Slave Labor”, “Apple, Foxconn and the Human Cost of Electronics Manufacturing in China”, those are just a smattering of media reports that all say basically the same thing, that Apple is responsible for China’s labor laws, [...]
Lin-Sanity!!
Jeremy Shuhao Lin has taken the New York City sports world by storm these last few days. The Knicks’ third-string point guard, he has started the last two games and responded with a combined 53 points and 15 assists. Only 23, the 6’3″ (190.5 cm) point guard graduated from Harvard and has kicked around the [...]
We Mock Your Racist Ad
James Fallows wrote about a local Michigan Super Bowl commercial on his blog in The Atlantic yesterday. Some hack politician named Pete Hoekstra is running for his old seat in Congress against a Democratic opponent named Debbie Stabenow. He not so cleverly renames her “Debbie Spend-it-now” and tries to blame her for lost Michigan manufacturing [...]
We Wish You A Merry Christmas!
Wukailong and I wish everyone a very merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah and in a few days, a great New Year. Rather than a white Christmas, down here in San Diego our Christmases are a bit balmier. However, we still get into the spirit in a different sort of way. Here are a few pix taken [...]
USA: Vienna Teng
There aren’t many successful Asian American performing artists in the music world but one in particular stands out as an accomplished singer/songwriter and musician. That would be the Bay Area’s own Vienna Teng, who became a professional performer in a very roundabout way. Though she had trained in classical piano as a child, she was [...]
Book Review: “On China” by Henry Kissinger
Many books have been written about China that either focus on the relatively recent past or write with no historical or cultural perspective. I’ve wanted to see a book about China that took both their culture and their view on diplomacy and geopolitics into consideration when discussing the changes over the last half century along [...]
