Apparently the Chinese engineers have managed to create a knock-off iPhone. This is a functional knock-off, not a scam with an empty shell. So, they copied not only the hardware, but also the software. There is a discussion on MacRumors.com about this.

What I find interesting about the Chinese culture is that they do not believe that ideas should be owned by anyone. There is some truth to this. Any inventions, artistic creations, and scientific breakthroughs owe much to the ideas of others past and present. To put a patent and/or copyright protection on a product which is really a culmination of one’s culture, and reap the benefit of it personally, does seem wrong to some degree. There are many ideas and contributions to our culture that cannot be protected in a practical manner. Whether you end up with something that can be copyrighted, patented, or credited is a matter of luck. Many people have contributed to the steps in-between, which cannot be patented, copyrighted, or credited. If you have ever worked for a large organization, this is quite obvious.

The Chinese, especially because of their Marxist past, see their intellectual contributions almost like the Open Source movement. It becomes a fair game to take the ideas of others if you don’t protect your own ideas. Chefs have always been operating (and thriving) in this environment, since one cannot copyright recipes.

Here is an interesting article about two dumpling restaurants in New York at war with each other. I find it interesting that the owner of the original restaurant, Lucas Lin, does not understand what his competitor meant by “We’re all Chinese”. Even though I’m not Chinese, I understand it. What he means by it is that dumpling is a culmination of the Chinese culture that all Chinese people are part of. It’s sort of like saying, “We are all Open Source programmers.” Lin does not own the idea of dumpling. He wasn’t even the first person to think of opening a restaurant that sells nothing but dumplings in New York. His original contribution was to use a memorable mascot to strongly brand a dumpling business, but why couldn’t someone else also copy that idea, just like Lin simply copied the idea of dumpling, and the idea of opening a dumpling-only restaurant?

Copying the ideas of others become unfair only when you protect your own ideas. If you do not protect your own ideas, then copying the ideas of others become a fair game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59kFfubw2Vk

A Japanese cell phone company apparently created a TV commercial where their mascot monkey imitated Obama, and this is drawing a barrage of criticism from the blogsphere. This Guardian article has an interesting story behind it.

It’s difficult to say what constitutes racism when the offender was unaware of the stereotype that exists in a culture that is foreign to him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si-lSLv9b4E

This is a funny video about Christmas and Hanukkah in China. Japan is the same way; Christmas is a commercial holiday, and Hanukkah is virtually unknown.

This just came from Asian CineVision:

The Asian American International Film Festival ’08 announces the rest of our groundbreaking line-up of programming and events for 2008, including our Short Films, New Landscapes panel series, and Special Programs.

AAIFF’s 2008 line-up will include Short Film programs from nine thought-provoking themes: CAMUS ANYONE?, COLLISION THEORY, EXPERIENCE LEVEL UP, FIST OF LOVE, I Y WKW, LOOKING GLASS, NEITHER VICE NOR VIRTUE, STATE OF FLUX, and ZONING CONFLICTS.

AAIFF also presents New Landscapes: Media and Its Adaptations, an inaugural series of interactive panel discussions on cultural topics relevant to Asian/Asian American communities. This new endeavor will engage artists, intellectuals, filmmakers, and other commentators in a timely dialogue on media, culture, and politics. Panels include: China and the Environment, Documentary Subjects, Female Gaze, Extra Lives: Intersections of Video Games and Film, New York Geographies, On Asian/American Aesthetics, One On One with Jessica Yu. Panelists will include Austin Chang, David Henry Hwang, Ann Kaneko, Orville Schell, Ron Simon, Billie Tsien, and Wayne Wang among many others.

Special Programs and Workshops further delivers a range of programs geared to educate and promote various media outlets for the Asian American arts, including: Screenplay Reading, 20 & Under Program: For Youth By Youth, 72 Hour Shootout, and Work in Progress.

For more information visit: http://asiancinevision.org/press.html

Given the fact that gay people have the highest disposable income and that they are early adapters, they should have made male robots who kiss and hug on cue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnyJ4bj21-w

According to this article, the Chinese are now the largest minority in Japan. Not sure why any Chinese would want to move abroad now. China sounds like the most exciting place to be at the moment. Wouldn’t they miss the opportunity to strike it rich in their own country? Well, perhaps living in Japan is a means to take advantage of the growing economy in China.

It’s also interesting to note that Brazilians are the third largest. I would have never guessed that one.
Does that mean there are now a lot of great Brazilian restaurants in Japan?

That’s a pretty good acronym, and the name says it all. Here’s the website that explains the sad situation at Hunter College in New York City.

I actually have no idea what “Asian American Studies” are. My guess would be that you study the history of Asians in America. Well, the fact that I don’t even know what “Asian American Studies” are, is a good reason why we need such programs at colleges like Hunter.