w0rd.ca » Asia

Not sick of art yet?

1 1 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:31:55 +0000

Wall Street Stinks.

I’m fairly certain that there wasn’t anything even remotely this cool at Nuit Blanche last night, and if there was; I sure didn’t see it…

The man being smashed is Bernard Madoff, operator of the Ponzi Scheme.

The work is called ““放屁“ (fang pi)” by Chinese artist Chen Wenling.

Divine impressions.

Dogleash — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:12:01 +0000

70 year-old Buddhist monk Hua Chi has been praying in the same spot at his temple in Tongren, China for over 20 years. His footprints, which are up to 1.2 inches deep in some areas, are the result of performing his prayers up to 3000 times a day.

Maybe praying to a God everyday for 70 years has some merit…

How the net aids dictatorship.

Evo — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:05:30 +0000

The spread of connective technology isn’t all podcasts and tweets! Evgeny Morozov discusses how regimes use the net to censor and control information.

(Via Reddit.)

IKEA the new hot weekend respite spot in Beijing

Kearneycation — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 14:46:08 +0000

From this LA Times article about an IKEA (or Yi Jia) in Beijing that’s become popular as a getaway for resting, eating, and general relaxation:

“Bai mapped out a five-hour outing. First, they had hot dogs and soft ice cream cones at noon. Then they enjoyed a long rest lounging on the beds. Bai kicked off her sandals and sprawled out on a Tromso bunk bed. The 36-year-old homemaker made herself comfortable and even answered passing shoppers’ questions about the quality of the mattress.

“It’s soft and a great buy at this price,” she told a young woman, pointing to a dangling price tag.

After that, Bai and her family took group pictures. By 5 p.m., it was time for another meal, so they headed to the cafeteria and ate braised mushrooms with rice.

Many others arrive with the same intentions, sometimes bringing a book to read on a bouncy Poang armchair or carrying stuffed toys for their children to play with on a mattress. For the midday squatters, the abundance of seating is no small detail in a country of 1.3 billion where nabbing a subway or bus seat is practically a blood sport.”