Tiger Year Bodypainting
Happy New Year !
To celebrate the new Year of Tiger, here is a little surprise from Craig Tracy, a renowned american bodypainting artist using alive models : the Last South China Tiger Painting is a mural made of three female bodies.
Enjoy (and save tigers!)..
OMG ! Yummy & Customized Cupcakes
Cookies Cream & Vanilla Buttercream by OMG Bakery
Shanghai is that kind of special city that attracts dreamers like a magnet, and these dreamers make our city even more amazing. Seriously, there isn’t a week going by without hearing about this “new cocktail bar” or the “latest shop“…
When I met Jenna – and her cupcakes, I immediately wanted to write about “Oh my Goodness“ organic bakery. Not only because I have a sweet tooth, but also because I love a good story topped with passion and sugar.
Jenna came to China from NYC with her husband for his job, but wasn’t going to be a “taitai” (understand a housewife). After looking around for a job, she came to terms with the fact that advertising – her field, was not where her heart was and China was the perfect opportunity to follow her passion and there she opened the bakery to do what she loves the most.
“I love when clients ask me to create something special for an event – baby showers, birthdays, weddings… The great thing about cupcakes is that you can have a personal piece of cake without having to destroy the decoration. ” she says.
I couldn’t agree more…
B.and the City Cupcakes !
On http://www.OmgBakery.com/, you can take your pick among classics Vanilla, Chocolate, Carrot cake or Red Velvet and your frosting too : Chocolate Fudge Glaze, Sweet Meringue Buttercream and many other flavours..They come by the dozen, delivered to your door in a pretty box and they just taste, well, sweet. And knowing they’re organic, besides the fact that it’s better for the world, is a pretty good reason to just eat’em. Guilt-free.
Shanghai PPl : Andrew Rowat, photographer
Andrew Rowat - Photographer
Andrew Rowat is a photographer. The relation between his background – trained as a marine biologist, and experience - coming to China on a Canadian government intership to work for a state-owned Chinese carpet company, is obvious. Only passion can give you enough mojo to finally do what you love – and make a living doing it.
BuzzandtheCity : Tell us about your work..
Andrew Rowat : My portraits have appeared in the New Yorker and Vanity Fair and my travel work regularly appears in Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure. My lifestyle and design work makes its way into Wallpaper*, Monocle, and Dwell. If you read (and by read I mean look at the pictures) Esquire or GQ you have also seen my work.
A number of years ago I was also identified as one of the Top 30 photographers in the world to watch (creepy I know – thinking that all of these people are peering at you from the shadows), and since then we have had a yearly heaping of 30 more – still it was gratifying to be acknowledged by your peers. [if you google my name + “rising star” or “PDN 30” you can also read some other bios]
Carol Potter, CEO of BBDO Asia
B.C : What is the most fascinating in Shanghai for a photographer?
A.R : Early morning vibrancy. Not many cities can match the hurly burly of early morning Shanghai. Whether it is parks filled with retirees doing tai-chi and ballroom dancing; or long queues of pajama-clad Shanghainese waiting for dumplings and fried pancakes in the cluttered streets of the old city. Early morning in North America means lone joggers, the occasional commuter, but not much else. The other thing that happens in Shanghai, and China generally, when you are photographing is that you tend to attract a crowd. Mind you, you could have a bike accident and the same thing would happen. The Chinese love a spectacle.
Yue-Sai Kan at her home in Shanghai on Wednesday March, 4, 2009. Yue-Sai Kan created China's first major cosmetics brand in 1992, and is a television celebrity, hosting the show 'Yue-Sai's World'.
B.C : You have left Shanghai – temporarily of course, and living in New York. Is it the only place to go after Shanghai?
AR : Hardly. I think New York is a very safe and pedestrian choice after Shanghai as world cities go. I think there are much more interesting, and dynamic choices – Bogota, Santiago, Istanbul, Beirut, Damascus, Sao Paolo, or maybe a nice small village by the ocean in Italy….. (agree on that last choice)
Zhang Yin, the founder of Nine Dragons Paper (ND Paper) at her office and on the floor of Assembly Line 11 on Tuesday, November 25, 2008. Zhang Yin topped a list of richest Chinese in 2006, with an estimated wealth of USD 3.4 billion.
Sex-Proof SMS
In case you haven’t heard, China has been leading a ruthless war against pornography on Internet and on mobile phones. Authorities recently encouraged netizens to denounce x-rated sites in exchange of rewards up to 10 000 yuans (approximately 1000 euros). Guess what? It was no long before the hotline was overwhelmed with calls from people who were denouncing themselves in the same time if you ask me.
I just read on ChinatechNews about a new move against pornography, this time against “Sexting”. China Mobile Shanghai announced the company will filter from now on text messages according to a list of keywords provided by the public security department.
“Sexting refers to sending sexually explicit messages or photos between mobile phones via text messages.”
What will happen next is that the sms services of involved users will be suspended. Users will be free to complain to the public security department to identify further the content of messages (“No, this isn’t what you think, if you look that way…”) This comes up as the “trend” of sexting is now spreading fast among teenagers in foreign countries.
So I am thinking. 1st that confirms all sms content is controlled. 2nd, what about people’s right to booty-text partners or friends with benefits? 3rd, what prevent people from calling each other and saying dirty things? Will that be filtered too? 4th, I am curious about how you classify a picture or a video on mobile. Do they have guys at China Mobile Shanghai working 24/7 to watch and click on the mouse every time they see something “inconvenient”?
Anyway, I believe this will give birth to some new sms language, some kind of booty code or even mobile vpns.
I wonder if they also have a list of english keywords (uh-oh..just kidding)
Peace x
China reached 384 millions netizens
CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Center) has just published today its 25th report on the development of Internet in China (only available in Chinese for now).
At the end of dec 2009, the online population in China had reached 384 million netizens. The adoption rate is now 28.9% of the Chinese population. The number of mobile users netizens reached 223 millions of people (+120 millions vs 2008) or 60.8% of netizens.
This huge increase is partly due to 3G mobile phones launch in China since last year. (source : CNNIC/BNP Paribas Atelier Asie)
The End of Google China?
Following cyber-attacks identified as Chinese’s on private information figuring on Google.cn and 20 other major IT, media, finance and technology companies, Google has published on its official blog an official announcement :
“We will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.”
So, what are the consequences if Google was to shut down Google.cn :
x Business : Baidu will gain most marketshares coming from publisher’s paid search programs as well as Bing and other less significant homegrown search engines. Google owned about 36% of search engines market share in China in 2009 4th quarter.
x Ethics : Google would gain more credibility in the West after it was critized for “adjusting” to Chinese local market requirements, i.e. sourcing censored search results
But honestly, is this alleged attack the real kick for this major decision and is this a smart move ? If Google was making more bucks in China would it leave? Now that the market doesn’t look like a promised land anymore, ethics, on which Google had closed eyes before, are invoked to justify a possible departure – perhaps not to “lose face”.
I understand the commercial decision, as well as the good intentions of some people towards the censorship issue. But strategically, this looks like a big step. Backwards. What do you think?
To find out more (and see how this will affect your SEO in China) check the links from SEO company Them.Pro and the official Google blog.
To be followed…