Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
C’mon, Trader Joe’s People!
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I’m jumping in on this, because… well… c’mon Chinese people? Why do you have to try to out-gross the American children’s pageant scene? There’s no need. Full, depressing story here.
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Grand Central Station, one of the busiest terminals in the world, is locked and completely empty. Sandy hammered New York City Monday night. Midtown Manhattan was spared of the worst. We don’t have flooding like other parts of the city, but 39th Street has emerged as the dividing line of the have and have-nots. Of electricity that is. I’m straddling both worlds because while I don’t have power at home, I do at work! Here are some pics from my morning commute. A loss of power doesn’t stop the Korean greengrocer from staying open while nearly all chain groceries and drug stores are closed. One of my favorite burger joints remains closed, but they prepared as most other businesses did by boarding up the doors and laying down plastic to prevent flooding into the below-the-street storage. As a former Cub Scout, I know that in the case of rain (or record hurricanes), the flag should be taken down and stored inside. C’mon, closed post-office people! This Sanitation Dept. big gun is probably headed to the Lower East Side, parts of which are under a few feet of water. Wonder what kind of shape the old GRNY space is in! Not only are our bus lines down, but so are some of the bus signs! Even though the MTA has suspended trains and buses, cars are still assiduously avoiding the bus lanes even though I doubt they’d be fined at this point. No days off for Asians! Most countries have closed their consulates for the day — not the Philippines! The guy’s stepped out for a moment, though.
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Allied Old English is the maker of this fine “sauce,” which is basically sugar! You know, if you’re gonna do it this way, at least make the whole thing in a chinky font. C’mon!
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The former “Darkie” name is gone and the smiling minstrel face is replaced with a man of an uncertain race in a top hat, but the toothpaste is still literally called “black people” (黑人, pronounced “hei ren” in Mandarin). Black-people toothpaste is still sold in many Asian countries (we found this our first night in Taipei at a 7-11 two weeks ago). The parent company, Hawley & Hazel Group, is 50%-owned by Colgate-Palmolive. On their site, Colgate says that while they replaced the “Darkie” English name with “Darlie” in 1990, they kept the “hei ren” characters because “Hawley & Hazel’s research shows that Chinese consumers perceive the ‘Hei ren’ toothpaste brand to be trustworthy, international and modern.” If that’s the case, then how come there are zero black people on Darlie’s web site? C’mon, Colgate-Palmolive and Hawley & Hazel people!
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