Give an inch and the Chinese will take a mile. Ever since people in China received access to Obama’s Google+ page, they’ve been bombarding it with Mandarin comments, calling him nicknames like “Big Brother Ma.” I guess it’s good to have fans all around the world?
The Chinese are calling it Occupy Obama, in reference to the Occupy Wall Street movement, and it’s actually pretty hilarious. Here are some of my favorite comments, translated into English:
Obama brother, your ipad3 is too expensive, I can’t afford it, can you please make it cheaper.
Big brother ma, do you eat noodles?
Big brother ma, can you please introduce an American to be my wife?
Obama, what’s a good tv drama to watch? let me know.
Uncle Obama, quite handsome
Obama uncle, we should play basketball sometimes.
Little Obama brother, I hope you are reborn in in the mainland and become the emperor.
Pay us our money!
One annoyed American voiced his frustration saying, “Hey Google+, is there anything that can be done about these spam comments?”
The majority of Chinese commenters actually asked Obama to topple the Chinese Communist Party. I don’t think Google+ comments will ever convince “Brother O” into supporting a revolt against China’s political party, but the Chinese users seem to be pretty optimistic (or rather, delusional).
Conan O’Brien can attest to getting ripped off. Apparently, the talk show host isn’t the only one whose show designs are getting jacked in China. Check out the fobby versions of American movie posters, guaranteed to make you do a double take. As they say, why reinvent the wheel, right?
I gotta give kudos to Dunkin’ Donuts for doing their market research in China. Anyone who’s lived there knows that Chinese people have a practically unanimous love for fried dough (saw this firsthand at the very crowded churros shop in Beijing), pork and LeBron James. Combine those things, and you’ve got Dunkin’ Donuts’ latest marketing strategy for China.
Lebron, who has a huge following in China, will be advertising localized versions of the American pastry, which includes a donut with shredded pork.
I know it sounds like a weird flavor if you’re used to the classic sugar donut, but I actually think it’s a perfect choice for that area of Asia. I imagine the donut will taste something like the extremely popular “pork floss bun” found in Singapore. Those things sell like hotcakes here! In fact, Bread Talk, the Singapore-based company known for their pork floss bun, has become hugely successful in the Asia region because of this soft, savory pastry.
Whenever I see a spiderweb, my instinct tells me to look for the spider and kill it. It would never occur to me that the fine strands of silk that create the home of these eight-legged insects can be transformed into violin strings.
Shigeyoshi Osaki of Japan’s Nara Medical University has been studying the mechanical properties of spider silk for a number of years. He decided to use the silk strands taken from the webs of 300 female Nephila maculata spiders, which are known for their complex webs, to create the strings of the classical instrument. For each string, Dr Osaki twisted between 3,000 and 5,000 individual strands of silk in one direction to form a bundle. Three of these bundles are then twisted together in the opposite direction to complete the string.
Although the spider silk strings withstand less tension than traditional violin strings, they create a unique and preferable tone for professional violinists and music enthusiasts. So the next time you see a spider, think about their contribution to music before you squish it!
Last week, Conan sought revenge after he found out the Chinese show, “Da Peng,” completely jacked his show’s opening credits. Well, it looks like he had a change of heart. This week, the New York-based comedian not only decided to forgive “Da Peng,” but he also had the graphic artist from his show design new opening credits for the Chinese to use. The new credits include a few additional changes, like a flying fire-breathing Chinese dragon and country-western music. Hopefully his gift to them will stop their shameless copying!
When we blogged about the controversial ad campaign that Pete Hoekstra aired during the Super Bowl, many questioned why someone would agree to playing the role of the Asian woman. Lisa Chan, the Chinese-American actress who starred in the ad, recently came forward and apologized for taking the role.
Chan graduated from the University of California-Berkeley with a degree in sociology. At the age of 17, she founded a nonprofit organization focused on “empowering and inspiring young men and women that have been through the juvenile system to reach for the stars.” She is also a contestant at the 2012 Miss California USA competition. With her aspirations and credentials, it boggles me that she would agree to appear in the commercial. I doubt it would increase her chances of becoming Miss California.
“I am deeply sorry for any pain that the character I portrayed brought to my communities,” said Chan. Would you forgive her?
If you think Chinese people creating US knock-offs is funny, then Conan’s video below proves that copying the Chinese might be even funnier. After recently discovering that the opening credits to his show had been shamelessly ripped off by a Chinese show called “Da Peng,” Conan decided to take matters into his own hands. If you’ve ever watched a Chinese or Japanese talk show, this will seriously crack you up!
A lawyer in Singapore once told me that fighting trademark infringement in China is like playing a game of “whack-a-mole” — as soon as you’ve killed one sucker, another one pops up. On that note, may I present China’s latest “iPhone,” that takes the form of a locally-made gas stove. Who needs apps when you’ve got flames? The Chinese characters on the stove even translate as “apple.” Officials in Wuhan seized 681 stoves, which not only claimed to have been manufactured by Apple China Limited, but apparently also lacked safety precautions.
This comes after Apple won a battle this week against Proview, a Taiwanese company who claimed that it had called first dibs on the “iPad” trademark. A court in Shenzhen initially said that Apple didn’t have rights to the name, but the US company is now appealing that decision. I can’t imagine how much money Apple must spend on legal costs for China alone.
Japan always has really clever marketing, but it can sometimes (OK, a lot of times) be borderline racist. Check out this pastry called the black melon pan packaged up to look like some dude’s afro. Pan means bread and Melon pan is a type of bun that’s popular in Japan. It has a very thin layer of cookie dough on top of it with an ooey, gooey custard-like center. Not all melon pan are melon-flavored, although it’s probably the most common kind in Japan. I did some Googling and apparently the bread was sold in convenient stores in 2010, so I’m not sure if it’s still around. It’s funny; the opinions of the bread are mixed. Some commenter thought it was just a fun joke, while others were really insulted by it. What do you think — is it racist or not?
I paid a visit to Shake Shack, my favorite burger joint, while I was in NYC over the weekend. While standing in line, I noticed a new item on the menu, the “Jeremy Lin-Mint” milkshake. I was tempted to get it, but as much as I love the basketball superstar, I couldn’t justify paying $5.75 for a milkshake.
It looks like Shake Shack is capitalizing on the Linsanity. What’s next, will the Girl Scouts rename their famous thin mint cookies, “Lin-Mint cookies?” Well, if you’re craving a shake made from chocolate ice cream, mint chocolate fudge and cookies, hit up Shake Shack and let me know if it’s worth the hype.
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I paid a visit to Shake Shack, my favorite burger joint, while I was in NYC over the weekend. While standing in line, I noticed a new item on the menu, the “Jeremy Lin-Mint” milkshake. I was tempted to get it, but as much as I love the basketball superstar, I couldn’t justify paying $5.75 for a milkshake.