Vincent Margera, known to fans of the MTV reality show Viva La Bam as “Don Vito,” was convicted Wednesday of two counts of sexual assault on a child and could face life in prison. The obese, often sweaty, often tormented uncle of prankster Bam Margera reportedly collapsed in court as his conviction was read […]
Cal Ripken to Address Shanghai AmCham
OK, a quick game. Which guy from the photo holds the Major League Baseball consecutive games played record and which is that bald guy from The Shield? If you said the guy on the left holds the MLB record, you are right. That’s Cal Ripken Jr. And the guy to the […]
The only, and I mean only, slightly pleasurable part of the wildfire disaster that has now destroyed almost 500,000 acres in Southern California is watching Arnold Schwarzenegger flip on the Terminator switch and take matters into his own hands. People like me, who do not reside in California and thus do not rely on […]
Pop Star Blacklisted By Filipino Maids
Hong Kong is famous for many things — barbecued pork buns, the Triads and tailor-made suits to name a few. But one of the most unique features of China’s autonomous neighbor to the south is the presence of Filipino maids. They’re everywhere. And if you’ve ever had the pleasure of walking around […]
Caution: Too Much Lust in Lee’s New Film
Ang Lee’s newest film, “Lust, Caution,” which took top honors at this year’s Venice Film Festival, will have to be cut significantly before its China release on October 26th. The “spy-thriller,” according to China’s censors, featured too much nasty boot-knocking. According to a Reuters report Wednesday, Lee cut the edited-for-China version himself rather […]
The Fat Ladies Sing in Modern China
What do you get when you mix 4 obese Chinese women, outlandish costumes and some microphones? Well, first you get a singing group called Qian Jin Zu He, a gimmick group composed of a 375-pound chick and three others weighing over a deuce and a half. And second, you get a Washington Post […]
China Blocks ‘Rush Hour’ Release
If a Western film has a tenuous plot, plentiful stunts and is about robots that can transform themselves, it is shown in every theater in Shanghai cinemas. But if a Western film has a tenuous plot, plentiful stunts and features a black dude mocking a Chinese guy, it is not shown at all. […]
Potter Fever Sweeps the Mainland
China Daily’s front page headline Saturday said it all: “Chinese Bookworms Going Potty About Potter.” Saturday’s release of the final installment of the kid wizard series is making Chinese kids wish they could read in English. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows became available in China at 7am Saturday morning and is expected […]
In November 2006, I debuted Flumesday’s U.S. election coverage called “Vote Or Don’t.” The name dually describes American political apathy and the difficulty for expats abroad, especially those like myself who don’t live in a democracy, to go through the process of casting an absentee vote. However, with a mere seven months before […]
Well the Sopranos is finally over. And I’d be lying if I said that I was not very sad. It is rare that a TV show comes along with such brilliant dialogue, dark humor, real violence and a storyline that held my attention for 8 years straight. When the screen went black […]