AsiaPundit is a fan of the friendly neighborhood Spider-man and admits to preferring traditional renditions of the wallcrawler. Still, AP has no serious objection to the introduction of giant transforming robots to this 1978 Japanese live-action version of Spider-man.:

Everything is better with giant robots. Giant transforming robots should be in all movies relating to Japan regardless of the source material. Pearl Harbor, the Last Samurai and Geisha could all have been much improved with the addition of giant robots. Bill Murray would have won that Oscar had the robot scene not been shortened in Lost in Translation (and if the robots had been taller).

(via Flea)

Technorati Tags: asia, east asia, japan, northeast asia

Lee Kwan-yew did not enrich himself during his tenure as leader of Singapore. Nor did his family gain any undeserved influence over the country. It is a meritocracy and don’t suggest otherwise.

In fact the only reason Lee can sustain an affluent lifestyle in retirement is because he gets shedloads of cash from irresponsible Western media groups that dare to suggest such nasty and untrue things.:

We recognise that the statements attributed to Mr Lee in the obituary on Devan Nair and which are referred to in Mdm Yeong Yoon Ying’s letter, are false. We apologise to Mr Lee for having published them, and we unreservedly withdraw them. We have agreed to pay Mr Lee damages and to indemnify him for all costs incurred by him in connection with this matter.

The Economist last apologized to the Lee family in September 2004. Other media groups that have had to apologize to the Lee family include Bloomberg, the Far East Economic Review and the International Herald Tribune. Typical settlements are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Technorati Tags: asia, censorship, media, singapore, southeast asia

A Hong Kong firm has just taken over the makers of FRISBEE®, the HULA HOOP® and the SUPERBALL®.  There has been no disclosure on whether Cornerstone Overseas Investments Ltd is in any way affiliated with the Communist Party, although AsiaPundit thinks this may be an attempt by the Chinese to gain a strategic advantage in the development of iconic round plastic objects.   

How did this happen without a Congressional hearing?!?

Chinese investors couldn’t buy an oil company or the maker of Maytag appliances, but now one Hong Kong group will be able to claim a real American icon — Wham-O Inc., the maker of Frisbee, Hula Hoop, Hacky Sack and Slip ‘N Slide toys.

Wham-O today said that it had been acquired by an affiliate of Hong Kong toy distributor Cornerstone Overseas Investments Ltd. for an undisclosed amount.

The 58-year-old company, headquartered for most of its existence in San Gabriel before moving to Emeryville in Northern California, in recent years has bounced around more than a Super Ball — another of Wham-O’s famed inventions.

(Photo stolen from the Tribune of India)

Technorati Tags: asia, china, east asia, hong kong, northeast asia