Every week I receive at least one query asking me for pointers on finding statistics regarding how much China recycles on an annual basis. And, for the most part, my answer is the same: check Google, or check the trade publications. For example, a simple google search will reveal that China generated and recycled around…
All posts in Snarkiness
“Want some chocolate, handsome?”
On October 28 the Shanghai Daily ran what now stands as my favorite headline in the history of journalism: The headline isn’t the best part, though. That honor is reserved for the story itself, which goes something like this: last year, the five individuals in the above photo began working as prostitutes in Shanghai. One…
How many IOC members watch Oprah?
[To non-IOC members who also haven’t heard of her, here’s a wiki to help you along] An official, non-China-related Shanghai Scrap tirade: I’ve traveled widely – perhaps, not as widely as some of my colleagues – but widely enough to know a few things. First, never exchange money at an airport; two, always pack single…
Yes, we have no scrap, pt. III
As noted in previous posts, Shanghai Scrap is the lucky beneficiary of misdirected scrap metal, paper, and plastic inquiries from around the world. As also noted in previous posts, I reserve the right to re-print these sometimes ridiculous, but always interesting, inquiries (with the solicitor’s name, if the email is clearly identifiable as scrap spam).…
Even Better Than the Real Thing: A Shanghai Scrap Correction!
Earlier this week, Shanghai Scrap told you all about the torturous path that Shanghai’s 19th century Carmelite convent has taken, from after-thought on the Shanghai Film Studio lot, to (apparently) a renovated museum at the redeveloped Shanghai Film Centre . The full account can be found here. Foolish, foolish me. This afternoon I happened to…
How to absolve yourself of negligence in forty words or less.
Below, a minor classic in the under-appreciated art of pinning blame for a workplace accident on the injured party. The complicated and highly refined nature of this craft makes solo performances exceedingly rare, and this instance is no exception: for here we have a stark duet, between the city agency responsible for running the Shanghai…
One World, One Dream, and One Very Well-Staged Olympic PR Photo
A bit under the weather these last few days … and it probably has nothing to do with this photo – and caption – that ran in China Daily on Saturday: I’ve discussed this at length with two people who appreciate these things, and we all agree that this very good photo would have risen…
Olympic Bed & Bath
You go to work wearing an official Beijing 2008 baseball cap. You ask your secretary to serve you tea in your very own official Beijing 2008 tea set. And, when local officials stop by to visit, you impress them with your official 1 kg Beijing 2008 gold bar (a US$19,500.00 value). But despite all of…
BOCOG Hearts Sochi
In other Olympic news, the IOC’s coordination panel for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, made their first site visit on Tuesday. There doesn’t seem to be much English-language coverage of this event, but what little does exist does not paint a positive picture. For example, Reuters reports that police were seen beating homeowners…
An Autocratic Shoulder to Cry On.
Sure, it seems like all fun and games being elected the President of Russia. But when the vodka stops flowing, and the long shadow of one Vladmir Putin starts peering over your shoulder, those Moscow nights might start looking a whole lot darker. And if that’s not trouble enough, those pesky, nosy Western democracies aren’t…