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“The director of China’s tennis programme says more athletes should follow Li Na’s lead and break away from the country’s sports system.” Winning the French Open was a great victory for Li Na, who is the first Asian to ever win a tennis Grand Slam event. Yet how she was able to achieve this success is, in part, due to the fact that she chose to break away from China’s state athletic training system in 2008, a move that allowed her to choose her own coaches, training regimen and tennis matches. An additional perk for Ms. Li and three other tennis players who also abandoned the Chinese state system is that they get to keep a larger percentage of their professional winnings. This has prompted athletics professionals in China, including top tennis official Sun Jinfang, to question the state’s system and criticize it for its long history of rigidity and lack of emphasis on individualized training. There is no question that Chinese athletes are some of the world’s best, as the country’s performances in Olympic events often prove. But it would be nice to see more athletes like Li get a chance to flourish and achieve victory on their own terms and not just for the glory of Mother China. (BBC News Asia-Pacific – Li Na Bucks Chinese System)
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Takashi Miike to Direct Film Based on Nintendo DS game – Phoenix Wright Miike’s next film following his 13 Assassins and Ninja Kids… This man keeps busy, and it’s striking that anyone will make a film based on a DS game. That’s how strong DS is in Japan. “In a typical “Ace Attorney” game, you’d hunt for clues in various locations and talk to persons of interest who might info on a case. Then, like a “Law & Order” episode, the action shifts to a courtroom where you put witnesses on the stand and whip out evidence that shatters their alibis.” (IFC - Miike Phoenix Wright) After the Quake: Sake Returns! Takahiro Hirai says, “I thought the fermentation had gone too far and we’d have to discard everything. I had almost lost hope,” he says. “But it turned out to be full of life, with an excellent strong, thick flavor, although very different from our usual style.” It turns out that although the many sake houses damaged from the quake are re-finding their stride. The rice used isn’t from the quake zone, but are from Western Japan. Perhaps there’s a few relaxing times ahead. (Time – Sake is back) China slows down Rail Expansion The story might not be that exciting, sans this one passage: “A corruption scandal ousted China’s speed-loving railway minister Liu Zhijun, amid reports he kept multiple mistresses nationwide, and concerns over safety and cost persuaded his replacement to lower top operating speeds from 217 to 186 mph.” Guess what he wanted the high speed railways for? (USA Today – Bootie Train) 40 Ways The Chinese Economy Is Beating The Living Daylights Out Of The US There’s probably more than 40, but this scroll through list is a good quick way to catch up on how strong China is at the moment. “Since 2005, the U.S. has spent $1.1 trillion in Chinese products and services, but China has only spent $272 billion on American goods and services” (Business Insider – 40 Ways China Leads) Old School Asian American Actor – James Hong “You know the face. but you may not know that actor James Hong, who voices Panda’s papa, grew up in Minneapolis “They couldn’t find a role for me in high school because they said they didn’t know what to do with a yellow face. And even at the U of M, they’d say, ‘What would we do with a Chinese man in our plays?’ ” James Hong is one of those actors who has contributed to the growth of Asian Americans in Hollywood, but in the end, he gets just a pat on the back, if even that. (Twincities – James Hong)
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You know them from the placemats at Chinese restaurants. Right to left: pig, dog, rooster and half a monkey. Over Memorial Day I got a chance to swing by and see Ai Weiwei’s sculpture exhibit at the Plaza Hotel at the southeast corner of Central Park. Toughest chicken ever! Right to left: rooster, monkey, sheep, horse and snake. The odd thing is that there isn’t a sign describing the heads sitting in the Pulitzer Fountain. There isn’t even a sign that notes the name of the artist or the title of the work (“Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads“). Maybe it was meant to echo China’s silencing of Ai Weiwei via jail. The rabbit is in a rather precarious spot. Right to left: dragon, rabbit, tiger and ox. What is the meaning behind the art itself? Surely it echos the bronze zodiac heads of a famous ancient water clock that were looted from China by British and French forces in the Opium War. It may also be a comment on capital punishment in China (the highest in the world on an annual basis, though not on a per-capita basis). The first time I saw the tiger, I thought it was a bear! Right to left: tiger, ox and rat. Or perhaps the 12 animals represent the mercurial nature and hypocrisy of the Communist Party of China, and the different masks it wears year-to-year, day-to-day, depending on whom it is addressing and what it ultimately wants. I’m just saying. Los Angelenos: Don’t be bummed you’re not in New York City. The exhibit is coming to LACMA in September!
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The Straight Graphical Dope on Nintendo “If you’ve never read about Nintendo’s history, it’s a fascinating story. In Japanese, the word Nintendo means ‘leave luck to heaven’.” And if there is a heaven, it seems to have been smiling on Nintendo for a very long time. Certainly since the company began producing video games in 1978. Many of us go through our daily lives using the products we like without giving much thought about the company behind the conception and manufacture of these products. Seriously, think about it: when you got your first NES or Gameboy you didn’t really consider where it came from, you just wanted to play with it and have fun, right? Right. Well, at the link there is an infographic which will give you a quick and interesting summary of Nintendo’s origins and historic sales and market share figures. At the very least, if Nintendo comes up at the next cocktail party you attend, you’ll be able to whip some heavy gaming facts on the less-enlightened martini-and-olive crowd. (Bit Rebels—Nintendo History) Prince Philip Unapologetic for ‘Slitty-eyed’ Remark “I’d forgotten about it. But for one particular reporter who overheard it, it wouldn’t have come out.” One day in 1986, on a visit to Xian, China, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (a.k.a. husband of Queen Elizabeth II) famously commented to a group of British exchange students “If you stay here much longer you’ll be all slitty-eyed.” Many of you are likely too young to remember this and other disparaging public comments the duke has made over the last 60 years. And you’re probably better off. Of the comment above, the duke recently said “The Chinese weren’t worried about it, so why should anyone else?” So much for enlightened attitudes and cultural sensitivity within the British Royal Family. (The Daily Telegraph UK – Prince Philip.) (For your further amusement and disbelief, an extensive list of “Philip-isms” can be found in this piece by The UK Independent: Insensitive Prince.) Mortal Kombat Legacy Slightly Flawed, but Good “Mortal Kombat Legacy seems to have the right production values. It’s no ‘big Hollywood’, of course, but it’s got primetime television level effects.” Seven episodes into this web series, and things seem to be going well. It boasts a cast of actors familiar to fans of science fiction TV programming (Jeri Ryan, Tahmoh Penikett, Ian Anthony Dale and Ryan Robbins), and is giving Mortal Kombat fans fairly interesting stories on the origins of key Mortal Kombat characters. The story on the origin of Raiden, in particular, has been praised as the series’ finest so far. Still, it is a fledgling show, and web-based at that; so it has been criticized a little for continuity errors and some production values that seem a bit less than top-notch. However, word is Mortal Kombat fans should not only check it out; they’ll probably like it quite a bit. (TG Daily – Mortal Kombat Legacy) China, Japan Look to Rebuild Chinese Tourism “Following the Tohoku quake and tsunami,...
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Japan Unveils Massive Solar Ring Plan for the Moon “Shimizu Corporation proposes the Luna Ring for the infinite coexistence of mankind and the Earth.” One of Japan’s biggest construction companies is perhaps the last source you’d expect to propose encircling the Moon with solar panels to provide us with unlimited energy. NASA, Japan’s JAXA, or the Russian Federal Space Agency? Sure. Still, Shimizu’s proposal, which currently has no established timeline, could in theory provide the Earth with 13,000 terawatts of free and clean solar power. Uh, after the 6,800 mile-long solar ring and the moon-based power transfer facility are built, that is. (The Mail Online – Solar Ring Plan for the Moon) Korean Chef’s Continental Mission “Korean cuisine has a much more complicated flavor profile than soy sauce and kimchi.” Korean celebrity chef Edward Kwon loves to play with kimchi. But he is also out to prove to the rest of us that elements of Korean cuisine are not only world-class, but can be happily incorporated into traditional continental cooking styles. (CNNGo – Chef Edward Kwon) U.S. 9th Circuit Is Not In Liu “He is withdrawing because there is little prospect that the Senate will ever vote on his nomination.” Berkeley law professor Gordon Liu withdraws his name from nomination to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The liberal scholar had been appointed by President Obama, but GOP members of the Senate filibustered to block a vote which may have approved his nomination. (NPR – Professor Gordon Liu) Chinese Prisoners Farm Virtual Gold “Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labor,” Imagine working 12 hours a day at hard prison labor, then being forced to play online games for the benefit of your jailers. Under penalty of physical abuse with, say, plastic pipes. A former prisoner of China’s Jixi Labor Camp tells the story of how prison bosses made him and his fellow inmates play online games (like World of Warcraft) for virtual currency. (Guardian UK – Online Gaming Prisoners) Lacrosse in Shanghai? “People look at you strangely when you mention lacrosse.” Lacrosse, a quintessentially American sport, didn’t exist in Shanghai three years ago. Now, thanks to the support of the Federation of International Lacrosse and an encouraging expatriate coach, a group of Chinese students have their eyes set on the Lacrosse World Championship in 2014. (CNNGo – Shanghai Lacrosse Players)
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