Joomla is an open-source content management system: Anyone can download it and install it on their server to build robust, complex websites. (Think WordPress with more data manipulation options.)

In 2005, two Dutch entrepreneurs took Joomla with them to a small town in the Tibetan Plateau. There they founded a non-profit, Global Nomad,…

Continue readingOpen-source tool exported to Tibet, creates jobs

The accompanying text is: “On July 28 at the Yingxiong Shanrenfang Shopping Plaza in Jinan city, an old man wanted to jump down from the roof of the 6-meter tall glass house. The police tried to persuade him not to. Meanwhile the reporters from Jinan TV sat right underneath and ate KFC and drank Pepsi.”

Originally…

Continue readingPhoto of the day

Jan Chipchase, a well-known design researcher who moved to Shanghai recently, posts about his 6 Rules for Night-riding in Shanghai. I’ve excerpted my favorite parts below:

The first vehicle into a space has right of way: in the event of a tie – the biggest, most phucked-up vehicle wins. If one vehicle obviously belongs…

Continue readingA late-night bike ride in Shanghai

Look look, China overtakes the US in total consumption…

But, of course, the US is still king when it comes to consumption per capita.

Article and graphs from a Wall Street Journal article entitled “China Tops US in Energy Use.”

Via Paul Denlinger…

Continue readingChina now #1 in… energy consumption

PANGBIANR 旁边儿 is a “platform for exploring the lived culture of making art, music, film & food in China.” So far they have a Twitter presence, a blog and some events coming up.

Here are some highlights from their blog:

1. The rise of nerdy board game parlors in…

Continue readingPangbianr blog on art, music, food & film

On your left, Hong Kong. On your right, New York.

Two people in two places, sharing photos.

More here (via Cheryl Yau’s blog.)

Can somebody please tell me what this means?

Almost a decade ago, Boroditsky, then a young assistant professor at MIT, conducted a study of Mandarin speakers that thrust her into the spotlight. English speakers, she explains, tend to see time on a horizontal plane: The best years are ahead; he put his past behind him. Speakers of Mandarin, however, tend to see…

Continue readingMandarin speakers’ perception of time (updated)

Riding off of the wave of momentum out of ARTHK10, the local art community in Hong Kong has opened a new blog reporting on and reviewing local events. It’s an impressive effort so far and will no doubt further their bid to make Hong Kong the fine art capital of Asia.

Check out their site…

Continue readingThe growing fine art community in Hong Kong gets a blog

July 1 is a day of protest in Hong Kong, coinciding with the anniversary of the former colony’s handover back to China. It’s come to life recently as a hodgepodge of dissent: Various groups, organizations and even artists use it as a public forum to shout back at the local government heads.

The experience as a participant is quite interesting: You…

Continue readingProtest art from Hong Kong

This post also appears on World Wide Pop, my latest project featuring pop & indie culture from all over the world. I’m posting this here because it reports on something from China.

I first discovered I am MT (我叫MT, 2009-1010) while reading an article about the Tudou…

Continue readingI am MT web cartoon