See more funny videos at Funny or Die

When I read Alex Bogusky talking about Paris Hilton's intelligence in this Fast Company interview I thought it an interesting comment, and now I've seen the video I actually think she comes across as articulate and in control. See for yourself.

Internet star and Beijing history teacher Yuan Tengfei talks about freedom of speech, with a clarity and frankness rarely seen in China. Just Brilliant. English subtitles by Chris Wip.

From Danwei.org

"For most of the past four years, Mr. McCain and the man who beat him for the Republican nomination in a bitter campaign in 2000 have treated each other like a pair of reversed magnets, members of the same metallurgical family held apart by reciprocal repulsion. Now their locked arms are raising eyebrows."

Depressing really, but I did score some amazing vintage magazines which I don't really have enough space to carry back to China ,although if anyone is interested I can buy up the rest next week and ship 'em somewhere, where they will be appreciated because I was the only person interested in them given that most of the people ambling around the car park were of Vietnamese or Mexican extraction. These printed products kind of reminded me of the Ephemera Society fair that I attended with Charlie some time back last year.

Lastly a bit of advertising as all the items I bought are chock full of ads that are so good. I particularly liked this one because I'm staying with a friend who was partly responsible for hiring of Crispin Porter while at VW and developed with CP&B a campaign which is strictly speaking so on brand all these years later from the above quintessential Bernbach days of DDB and Volkswagen. See below.

However I found this picture on Wanfujing high street the most solemn and in case it didn't make it to the Western media I've posted it today because I think it sums up both the extent of the grief that the parents of these children must be feeling and equally it's the most sensitive topic for the Chinese government which has now been clamped down on in terms of discussion in the broadcast media, which is the quality of the school buildings that fell so quickly in that area.


Some of you may recall that I've railed against the quantity not quality approach that seemingly blinds a lot of the business community, including the advertising brigade who avoid any discussion that managing the growth rate and its reciprocal greed is what the business is about. That the any nod towards idea innovation is in the main a desire to be associated with the creative economy. This doesn't mean that China hasn't been an unprecedented success in its idea of how to succeed from a nation state perspective.

I've also recently managed to talk to people who are closer to government and there is some interesting and unsubstantiated gossip that Premier Wen Jiabao whose popularity rating has climbed since the tragedy, leapt on a plane after the quake which occurred at 14:28:01.42 CST and was in the perimeter of the damage area within 2 hours with a loudhailer and some power to get things done. Not enough power it seems because his immediate call for the military to be deployed through the highest office of Hu Jintao was ignored for two days due to bureaucracy and possibly the potential of political capital being made.

This is unsubstantiated rumour, because even getting a reluctant nod on the names involved was hard enough and I didn't realise until the second time round who was being indirectly held accountable by the Chinese who like all people share information with each other. It's always worth bearing in mind that Chinese culture in the 21st century is both thousands of years old and yet at the same time is just finding its feet. More on that later as I've got a few outstanding posts on how China ticks from what I've learned so far.

Some time back a very bright friend of mine who commits his formidable intellect to social entrepreneur projects came up with an idea that has been waiting for the internet to come of age. We all know that the decisions made in Washington D.C. (or is it Crawford Ranch now?) have an impact around the world that is disproportionate to the population of the U.S. vis a vis the rest of the world .

It's always been the case that the U.S. election is the only political show in town that counts, and for those U.S. residents who feel it's an exclusive affair to holders of U.S. citizenship well the rest of the world disagrees and I can assure you the last 7 years have been deplorable. We're not happy and it impacts directly on our live, and now here's your chance to be heard.

The good news is that the global community now has the opportunity to express who they wish to represent them in the next presidential election through the good work of Joey Baxter and his friend at Community Counts. So if you remember this post from some months back, the site has been built and is ready to rock and roll. Now is the time to sort out the year of the rat. The votes break down neatly by geographical location too which adds some relevancy to your choice of candidate.

Go here and make a point for a few seconds if you can.

Earlier this evening, the Ballet de l'Opera national de Paris danced a 'Paquita' for a predominantly Chinese crowd at the National Theatre for Performing Arts (the Egg). Quite asonishingly (to me) they played with the narrative on two notable occasions.

They were spectacular, fluid, and yet tight when it counted. Gutsy in a word.

At the end of the first act through a triangle shaped formation, the dancers hopped violently backwards and receeding back into the stage, with peaked caps, bathed in the deepest hues of revolutionary red, and saluting violently to the audience whose spontaneous applause they won through sheer bravery given the context of the protests by China against the French in the last few days that is bordering on rage and insanity.

For a brief few seconds, it was as if the French were saying to the overwhelmingly Beijing intellectual-elite audience, "is this what you want?", "is this how you want France to be?", "jumping up and down every time China starts to wave a stick?" ...."haven't you, you of all people, had enough abuse of power?"

It was the most creative thing I have ever seen and I will never forget it.

Bravo!

I really like this. I'm having an email discussion about the difference between using the word success or win in a tagline and trying to explain that it doesn't really matter because both options are bland. Anyway I think Absolut Vodka have stumbled into ahem, a territory (intentionally or otherwise) that I believe some brands should think about, because the level of internet participation and debate says to me that contentious issues should be embraced, and that quite possibly there is a role for brands to host that debate in a constructive and meaningful way. Far more important than the meaningless endlines that are constructed to cause offense to nobody and ultimately please nobody. We are after all in the business of engagement.

I also wrote about this topic over here because I think we use the word brand values when the corporations who often are the most powerful forces in our lives (work and environment) claim 'values' that are rarely committed to anything of consequence. This is a huge missed opportunity I believe. I also said over here that I don't think the U.S or its leader 'the great decider' have any credibility left in the eyes of the international community to define what is right or wrong (particularly in Tibet) given their own track record, and I think Absolut have tapped into that debate with this ad for vodka which highlights the history of Mexico as stolen land by the United States.


It has now had to be withdrawn because we all know that the United States are hypersensitive to criticism that ranges from the American Indians, to the Mexicans and then Slavery. It has always had a propensity to protect its own God given wealth and the American dream (Illusion?). How long is it before we see U.S. government announcements of intent to 'smash and crush the Mexican clique responsible for this malicious falsehood? Of course I've got my tongue firmly planted in my cheek (I'm very fond of many people from the U.S and especially its political history), but equally I don't think we should ignore that thousands upon thousands of people all round the world are ignoring our well crafted endlines and joining in on this debate about Mexico and the United States on the Internet over here and elsewhere.

I do believe that its better for the flamers, pious revisionists and neoconservative right-wingnuts to let off their steam in an internet forum than in real life...why? Because I know from experience that they then feel they have had a chance to voice their opinion, that they've been heard, that maybe someone cares about what they feel - Even if nobody gives a fig. We all like the sound of our own voice when we're off on one don't we?

Update: I see Dos Equis have also tapped into this sentiment before Absolut

I"m not so bothered with George Bush as some. I feel a wave of mild embarrassment each time I see him pretending that what is happening isn't happening. I'm embarrassed for his poor grasp of geography, his shunning of history and lately a reversal on GOP economic theory by advocating 'trickle up economics' with the stimulus package. Now they say it's because poor people are more likely to go spend the cash, and the cynicism this reveals for trickle down economics is only now manifest. Have they been fattening their wallets all this time? Selling cheap loans to people who will spend the next decade paying them off?. Keynesian economics is now evidently being practiced by POTUS and the mantra of free market economics as the unfailing driver of good, is a boil waiting to be lanced.

This doesn't mean I'm not horrified by the grotesque spectacle of Bill Clinton pulling tricks I never thought I'd see in order to gain reentry into the Whitehouse and of course his desperate wife Hillary who looks way past her time and a little ugly like Giuliani with his never ending repetition of what he did for N.Y. But don't let that colour your impression of my politics because my favourite candidate so far has been Ron Paul of the Republican party for his ruthless pursuit of presenting the unpalatable truth to the U.S.

It is however increasingly looking like Barack Obama's time and I see potential in him to lead the country forward in a way that the United States both deserves and desperately needs. It's time to rid the U.S. of that unholy alliance of the fundamentalists and neoconservatives because its just obscene listening to those pro lifers support the war in Iraq.