Posts from — April 2007

Thai people free a bird from a cage for good luck in Bangkok on April 24, 2007.

From Activate.us

Technorati Tags: bird, cage, Thailand

Pinospy’s sharp eyes have spotted this new innovation from Japan. Now, I’ve no idea what the inspiration is for these fantastic jeans, but they’ve certainly made my day!

From Pinoyspy.com

Technorati Tags: fashion, Japanese, sexy, thong jeans, wedgie jeans

The respectable MC Jin (he’s signed by one of the US’s biggest rap labels), an American Born Chinese rapper, recently released his first all Cantonese hip hop album, “ABC“. He proclaims that “This is more than just beats & rhymes. This is my identity.”

With tracks like “1997“, “Speak Can’t Read” and “Yum Dom Cha“, the album puts together lyrics which describe Chinese identities and lifestyles and should strike a chord with most Chinese born outside of East-Asia.

For the first time, we have Cantonese rap which although takes a moment to get used to, doesn’t induce fits of cringing embarrassment. When MC Jin drops a sentence in English, you’d recognise the accent of quality US rap, but it’s when he recites your weekly Sunday dim sum routine - in crisp, Cantonese rhyme - that you’ve found the long-awaited cool-credible spokesperson of Western-born Chinese.

This album has practically burned into my ipod, so check the links and get a copy of  “ABC“!

ABCJIN.com

The video for the title track “ABC” on YouTube

From the British Chinese blog

Buy ABC from Amazon

Technorati Tags: ABC, American born Chinese, freestyle rap, hip-hop, Hong Kong, MC Jin, music

Pingmag has a nice visual post on characters from Japanese snack packaging.

Snack Characters

Technorati Tags: cuisine, design, Japanese, packaging

Fantastic! From Weird Asia News

Technorati Tags: big butt chair, photography

Writer and performer Anna Chen presents a new series exploring the early history of Chinese people in Britain. Join Anna on BBC Radio 4, 3.45pm on each weekday afternoon from Monday April 30th to Friday May 11th.

“For most people, the history of the Chinese in Britain begins with The Takeaway Generation: the thousands of people who came over from Hong Kong in the 1950s and 60s, opened a takeaway on every high street, and made chow mein a national British dish. But my Chinese father arrived as a sailor in the 1920s, worked as a firefighter, an activist in the labour movement, and ended up running a newspaper, so I’ve always been curious about those earlier unseen generations. Who were they? What did they do? And what sort of welcome did they get?

“In this series I’ll be exploring the lives of the Chinese who came to Britain before the sixties: as sailors, scholars, writers and artists, as well as laundrymen and cooks. And I’ll be discovering the many surprising ways in which Chinese people have made their mark on British life.”

The series content consists of the following:

1. The First Chinese VIPs
2. The Creation of Chinatown: the myth and the reality
3.  From Ship to Shore: experiences of Chinese seamen in Britain
4. Steam and Starch: life in a Chinese laundry
5.  Educated in Britain: the history of Chinese students
6. Feet unbound: pioneering Chinese women in Britain
7.  Mixed Blessings: growing up half Chinese
8.  Artistic Pursuits: stepping out on Britain’s cultural landscape
9.  Screen Beginnings: the first British Chinese screen actors
10. Peking Duck. and Chips: early Chinese restaurants

More information from AnnaChen.co.uk

All programmes will also be available to listen again for a week after broadcast at www.bbc.co.uk/radio4.

From David Parker.

Technorati Tags: Anna Chen, BBC Radio 4, Chinese in Britain, culture, United Kingdom

These fine soaps are hand molded and contain the highest quality natural ingredients: glycerin, vegetable oils, water, lanolin, moisturizers, and emulsifiers. Just don’t eat them!

Sushi Soap $10 at the Japanese American National Museum

Technorati Tags: crafts, cuisine, Japanese, sushi soap

A Google image search has come up with some interesting photos. As with the title, only in China…

This guy has skills. How else can he rest this easy in comfort?!

See more below…

Technorati Tags: China, culture, Only in China, photography

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