Björk offends Chinese over Tibet independence

by Anna Brones on

The status of Tibet is a touchy subject. Abroad, China‘s 58 year occupation of Tibet is seen as controversial, but most Chinese see Tibet as a part of their country. Speak of Tibetan independence is therefore seen as divisive, which is why at Björk’s recent Shanghai concert, she managed to push some serious buttons.

At the end of her Declare Independence song, originally dedicated to Greenland and the Faroe Islands which still have formal links to Denmark, the Icelandic singer shouted “Tibet! Tibet!” clearly indicating her feelings on the controversial issue. Although her statements were greatly appreciated by the Free Tibet Campaign, Björk can probably plan on not being invited back to China anytime soon.


Via Boing Boing

SXSW travel: The best tacos in Austin

by Justin Glow on

Hordes of geeks, film snobs, and indie rock gods are migrating south to this year’s SXSW festival in search of one simple thing — the holy grail of TexMex culinary delight: the beloved taco.

Ex-Gadlinger and Weblogs, Inc. wonder boy Jonathon Morgan (he runs GreenDaily and StyleDash now) has called Austin home for the past few years, so I asked him to share the love and tell everyone where he goes for some warm taco goodness. Here are his top picks:

Guero’s
Jonathon says: “Average Tex-Mex, but absurdly popular hangout.”
Yelp rating: 3/5. Favorite review: “Seven words: Tamales covered in queso and Luke Wilson.”
Distance from the action: 1.3 miles. Get directions.

Chuy’s
Jonathon says: “It’s a local chain, but the food is good.”
Yelp rating: 3.5/5. Favorite review: “If you love their ‘big as your face’ burritos but can not finish, order the mini burrito off the kids menu. They don’t care how old you are and it still come with rice and is plenty.”
Distance from the action: 1.8 miles. Get directions.

Juan in a Million
Jonathon says: “5 min drive east of downtown, with best name for taco place EVER.”
Yelp rating: 4/5. Favorite review: “You have not truly lived until Juan gives you a handshake. He winds back like a pitcher and SMACK, hits your hand perfect every time. If the Olympics hosted a handshake event, Juan would be a perennial gold medalist. Plus, he always refers to you as ‘my friend.'”
Distance from the action: 1.9 miles. Get directions.

Maria’s (Taco Xpress)
Jonathon says: “Great tacos, always packed, with a great big statue of Maria atop the entrance.”
Yelp rating: 4/5. Favorite review: “Maria grew a following because of her cheap and generous tacos and her great service. The place was borderline scary but so ‘keep Austin weird’ that it made Leslie look like George Clooney. (Nice pecs George, but no contest.)”
Distance from the action: 3.2 miles. Get directions.

Polvo’s
Jonathon says: “A favorite amongst the hipster set. Good Tex-Mex with cool outdoor seating.”
Yelp raiting: 3.5/5. Favorite review: “Whoa! My gut hates me! The food is delectable and I just keep eating! It’s like the sensors in my stomach yelling at my brain controlling the fork-to-mouth motion are not working.”
Distance from the action: 1.9 miles. Get directions.

Is your favorite not listed? Let us know in the comments!

Update on miracle baby who took a train toilet tumble

by Jamie Rhein on

A week has passed since I posted about the baby who was born prematurely while her mother was using the toilet on a train in India. As with many global stories, unless there’s some big breaking news, we rarely hear what happened next. It’s like traveling on a highway, seeing a big wreck on the other side of the meridian, but never really finding out what happened. We think about the wreck for a few miles or so, perhaps tell someone what we saw after we arrive at our destination, if we remember, but often our attention has already turned to the latest thing to pass in front of us.

After doing a quick Web search to look for information about the baby’s well-being and ending up with my own post, I headed toThe Times of India for news. The latest update I found is from March 1. The baby–a girl, either to be named Jodhaa or Karishma, had just begun to drink her mother’s breast milk through a tube. She’s also on extensive antibiotics in order to combat any infection from the umbilical cord being ripped off (and I expect spending the first seconds of life in a toilet). The umbilical cord was found by her where she lay at the side of the tracks. The doctors think that she must have not been born head first but landed on her hip since there is some internal injury there, but it doesn’t seem serious. Wow!

The hospital is not charging for the baby’s care since the family doesn’t have any money and the station master who found her spent his day off from work going to Ahmedabad to see her. (see article)

These are the details that make me start singing Louis Armstrong’s tune, “I see trees of green, red roses too….and I think to myself, what a wonderful world.” There is a line about babies. (Click here for the song)

Chinese food: More American than apple pie?

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Jennifer 8. Lee, a New York Times metro reporter, has a new book about Chinese food that is generating quite a bit of buzz, including last night on The Colbert Report. The book is called The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food, and its supposed to be full of eye-opening facts about what Americans think of as “Chinese food.”

For example, did you realize that there are more Chinese restaurants in the U.S. than McDonalds, KFCs, and Burger Kings combined?

There are so many Chinese restaurants– about 40,000, in fact– that Chinese food might be thought of as America’s “national cuisine.” Lee writes, “Our benchmark for Americanness is apple pie. But ask yourself: How often do you eat apple pie? How often do you eat Chinese food?”

The book also takes a look at the employees– many of them Chinese immigrants– of these tens of thousands of restaurants, which are often scattered around the US in out-of-the-way locations. She answers the question: How do these middle-of-nowhere Chinese restaurants open? Where do they find employees?

“[W]hiteboards and walls of Post-it notes… list the hundreds, if not thousands, of Chinese-restaurant job openings that pass through the area each week. Three numbers identify a job to a restaurant worker: the monthly salary, the area code where the restaurant is located, and the number of hours by bus from New York City… A job could be summed up thus: $2,400, 440 near Cleveland, 10 hours.”

Buy the book here. Or read excerpts here.

Rutherford B. Hayes and the Easter Egg Roll connection

by Jamie Rhein on

When Rutherford B. Hayes was the 19th president,of the U.S. he started the tradition of the Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn. The tradition has since carried over to Hayes’ estate in Fremont, Ohio. Every year, kids show up at Spiegel Grove with hardboiled, colored eggs in hand to participate in egg related contests and scarf down Easter goodies. This year, it’s March 22. So, that’s one afternoon. What about the rest of the year?

The estate, part of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, has the original gates from the White House and is where Hayes and his wife Lucy are buried. Other points of interest are the presidential library— the first ever presidential library, in fact. Also, there are Hayes’ and his wife’s 31-room mansion, and a museum that chronicles Hayes’ life, presidency and Ohio history to add to a trip here.

For some reason, unknown even to me, (and I’ve written about this place before), I left the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center out of my U.S. presidents with Ohio connections round-up post. So, if you’re going to head to the spots where U.S. presidents lived, head here. It’s part of the Ohio Historical Society’s several landmark holdings, and one of the state’s signature places.