Create your own subtitles for Japanese commercials.:

(Via Magnoy’s Samsara)

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

Via Nomad, South Korea’s courts have decided that nude yogurt fights have no artistic merit.:

Naked Dairy Fight Had No Artistic Merit, Court Finds

A Seoul appellate court on Friday sentenced an executive of a domestic milk company to a fine of about US$5,000 for staging a nude yoghurt fight to advertise a new product.

The bench ruled the performance was purely commercially motivated and had no artistic merit whatsoever. It said the show, in which three nude models sprayed each other with yoghurt, was obscene and sensational, adding it could find no justification for using nudity to achieve the goal of the campaign. One model identified as Park, who also serves as head of the Korea Nude Models’ Association, was fined US$2,000, while two other models were fined US$600 each.

Technorati Tags: asia, east asia, korea, south korea

In an essay that could be applied to much of the developing world, Roehlano Briones argues, rightly, that the dominance of flea markets in the Philippines is the result of too much regulation of businesses.:

1. What do you think does this tiangge (flea market) popularity says about the state of Philippine economy and consumer behavior?

Flea markets are a fixture in the Philippine (and many other) economies. As a matter of routine, they do not give receipts, hardly any sort of registration, and hence belong to the underground economy. The underground economy as a whole constitutes over forty percent of Philippine output. Fancy that.

What the undergroundization of the economy tells us (and flea markets is one sign of that) is that cost of going formal is high. According to the World Bank, the Philippines is ranked 113 out of 155 countries in terms of the ease of doing business. Incredible. Who are the best? New Zealand, Singapore, US, Canada, Norway, Hong Kong, in that order. We are 89th in terms of starting a business, 91st in terms of dealing with licenses, 82nd in terms of ease of hiring and firing workers, 92nd in terms of registering property, and a whopping 121st in terms of getting credit. Just to start a business, the average waiting time is 48 days, whereas in developed countries it is only 19.5 days; the cost of starting is up to one-fifth of per capita income, whereas in the latter it’s below 7%. Now should we wonder why the informal economy is so large? And why the informal economy in New Zealand is less than 13% of its national output?

(Photo of Quiapo Market stolen from Scent of Green Bananas)

Technorati Tags: asia, east asia, economy, philippines, southeast asia

Yes, this year will see the long-awaited unveiling of Chinese Democracy. AP warns against setting hopes for the project too high.:

The notoriously reclusive rocker is of course referring to Guns n’ Roses’ decade-in-the-making Chinese Democracy, arguably the most anticipated album in rock & roll history. "It’s a very complex record," says Rose, a surprise guest at Korn’s tour announcement bash. (Others in the house: Jessica Alba, cast members of The OC, and members of Linkin Park, Good Charlotte and the Used.) "I’m trying to do something different. Some of the arrangements are kind of like Queen. Some people are going to say, ‘It doesn’t sound like Axl Rose, it doesn’t sound like Guns n’ Roses.’" He then smiles and adds, "But you’ll like at least a few songs on there."

(Via iZ)

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

John at Sinosplice links to patriotic Chinese flash animation.:

It’s time for a special treat. In fact, today you get two great treats in one: Flash animation and modern Chinese propaganda! It’s cheesey. It’s trippy. It’s got music, a disembodied constitution-procuring hand, voting, lime green birds, and a scene stolen directly from Disney’s “It’s a Small World After All.” Perhaps most mystifying is the fact that for all the people that appear in the cartoon, there is exactly one nose. Check it out for yourself.

This is the second sighting of Chinese cyber police in a week. For reasons AP cannot explain, Jing Jing and Cha Cha are also noseless.

Technorati Tags: china, east asia, northeast asia

Via 3Yen, a Japanese website dedicated to girls with guns:

And via Mingi, North Korean women with bigger guns:

And from ESWN, a less attractive male model from Beijing poses with a truly freaky grappling gun.:

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

This is cute.:

AsiaPundit would still prefer OS X bento.

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