Digital Silk Road
From: plus8star, 1 week ago
Presentation done at OpenWebAsia in October 2008 on Asia's digital innovations and their potential impact on the West.
SlideShare Link
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Digital Silk Road
Digital Silk Road
From: plus8star, 1 week ago
Presentation done at OpenWebAsia in October 2008 on Asia's digital innovations and their potential impact on the West.
SlideShare Link
Monday, October 27, 2008
A message from Progress
You are Progress.
Speaking of progressive, i remember when Obama first started moving toward the center, i said he was a coward and a sellout in this blog and that he should rely on true change and progressive values to ride into the White House. Many of you thought i was being to harsh and said: without the center, without the powerful Obama cannot win. Progressive youth and such are not enough. I agreed and threw myself behind Obama.
but peep this story by Alexander Cockburn and remember his words in 2 years, when we are disappointed once again.
OR
better yet, throw my scepticism in my face when Obama really does do those things which we need doing to bring this nation into the 21st century.
We shall see.
Speaking of progressive, i remember when Obama first started moving toward the center, i said he was a coward and a sellout in this blog and that he should rely on true change and progressive values to ride into the White House. Many of you thought i was being to harsh and said: without the center, without the powerful Obama cannot win. Progressive youth and such are not enough. I agreed and threw myself behind Obama.
but peep this story by Alexander Cockburn and remember his words in 2 years, when we are disappointed once again.
OR
better yet, throw my scepticism in my face when Obama really does do those things which we need doing to bring this nation into the 21st century.
We shall see.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
They Still Don't Get It
Last Christmas I went to visit my parents in Germany and I told them then that Obama would win the White House. My Dad said "America is not ready for a black president." I didn't really argue with him, because I have a history of being right with this stuff and having Dad come around.
Before the Iraq War I did the superhuman feat of predicting disaster and my Dad and I got into a pissing contest about it. Now he hates Bush and says the War is killing the US. So it came as no surprise to have my Dad be like: yo, I am about to send in your absentee ballots ... Obama right? I'm like, yeah you know how i do. and he was like that makes three of us. Including my sister.
So you know, the end of Rocky IV and all ...."if you can change ..." hehehe
so here is the media finally catching on to what we have been yapping about for so long. NYT talks about race in Pennsylvania and the Republican's last ditch effort to corral the dumbest crackers in the nation and hope that its enough to squeak out a victory. It probably won't be.
And here is David Frum, "the other Karl Rove," explaining that the Republicans are losing and so therefore have to staunch the bleeding by giving up on McCain and trying to hold on to some Senate seats ... NOT by pulling their heads out of their asses and getting a clear picture of the 21st century world and our place and role in it, but by appealing to "fairness:"
"We're almost certainly looking at a Democratic White House. I can work with a Democratic president to help this state. But we need balance in Washington.
"The government now owns a big stake in the nation's banking system. Trillions of dollars are now under direct government control. It's not wise to put that money under one-party control. It's just too tempting. You need a second set of eyes on that cash. You need oversight and accountability. Otherwise, you're going to wake up two years from now and find out that a Democratic president, a Democratic Senate and a Democratic House have been funneling a ton of that money to their friends and allies. It'll be a big scandal -- but it will be too late. The money will be gone. Divided government is the best precaution you can have."
Sigh, The Republicans can't imagine that race isn't a divider like they hoped. They can't imagine that we all see through the Palin BS. They can't imagine that we know a leader when we see one.
And just in case you're all wondering, NO i am not deluded. I realize that a Democrat is still a politician and our system of governance lends itself to being bought out ... but in my lifetime, I haven't seen a real leader on the big stage yet (Cept for WELLSTONE R.I.P) until Obama showed up.
Before the Iraq War I did the superhuman feat of predicting disaster and my Dad and I got into a pissing contest about it. Now he hates Bush and says the War is killing the US. So it came as no surprise to have my Dad be like: yo, I am about to send in your absentee ballots ... Obama right? I'm like, yeah you know how i do. and he was like that makes three of us. Including my sister.
So you know, the end of Rocky IV and all ...."if you can change ..." hehehe
so here is the media finally catching on to what we have been yapping about for so long. NYT talks about race in Pennsylvania and the Republican's last ditch effort to corral the dumbest crackers in the nation and hope that its enough to squeak out a victory. It probably won't be.
And here is David Frum, "the other Karl Rove," explaining that the Republicans are losing and so therefore have to staunch the bleeding by giving up on McCain and trying to hold on to some Senate seats ... NOT by pulling their heads out of their asses and getting a clear picture of the 21st century world and our place and role in it, but by appealing to "fairness:"
"We're almost certainly looking at a Democratic White House. I can work with a Democratic president to help this state. But we need balance in Washington.
"The government now owns a big stake in the nation's banking system. Trillions of dollars are now under direct government control. It's not wise to put that money under one-party control. It's just too tempting. You need a second set of eyes on that cash. You need oversight and accountability. Otherwise, you're going to wake up two years from now and find out that a Democratic president, a Democratic Senate and a Democratic House have been funneling a ton of that money to their friends and allies. It'll be a big scandal -- but it will be too late. The money will be gone. Divided government is the best precaution you can have."
Sigh, The Republicans can't imagine that race isn't a divider like they hoped. They can't imagine that we all see through the Palin BS. They can't imagine that we know a leader when we see one.
And just in case you're all wondering, NO i am not deluded. I realize that a Democrat is still a politician and our system of governance lends itself to being bought out ... but in my lifetime, I haven't seen a real leader on the big stage yet (Cept for WELLSTONE R.I.P) until Obama showed up.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
A Perfect Majority
Yep. The Republicans are trying to win some seats in the Senate by saying: A one Party majority can't be good for the country.
They're absolutely right. When they had the majority, they didn't mention it too much, but they did indeed run the country into the ground. So now the pendulum swings ... back to the center i guess.
Here is a dope video. Intellectuals for Change.
Here is another dope video. Fools for a Racist God.
and check out this interesting story by Ivan Eland in Antiwar.com (also linked to your right) ... Al Qaeda endorses McCain because they realize that a fool in the White House is good for their recruiting drive.
They're absolutely right. When they had the majority, they didn't mention it too much, but they did indeed run the country into the ground. So now the pendulum swings ... back to the center i guess.
Here is a dope video. Intellectuals for Change.
Here is another dope video. Fools for a Racist God.
and check out this interesting story by Ivan Eland in Antiwar.com (also linked to your right) ... Al Qaeda endorses McCain because they realize that a fool in the White House is good for their recruiting drive.
Bumpin it in China
So here is a lil blurb about the music scene in China and below is my man Himmler's response:
the article is pretty accurate. one point I'd add though is that the falling cost of producing music (the digital era - hardware is effectively obsolete at this point) happened ten years ago and hasn't yielded significant gains in china. they absolutely play to the lowest common denominator and anything that rises above that bar is thoroughly suppressed. I'm under constant pressure at my gigs to play music that (dumb) chinese people can understand and relate to. but I generally don't comply as it's not in the best interest for myself or the handful of people in a club of 500 that are actually listening.
All of my people in China are mixed in with the music scene in some way. My man Big Tenz just finished a many month many city tour of China with his girl Aliya and they made somewhere between 5 - 6k US a month. Music is lucrative in China. Djs can make 400 US a show at least. Some more some less. Peep Himmler's website and you can get a feel for what's going down.
I have an earlier post here about Eli, a rapper in Chengdu. He's aight (sorry homie) for US standards, but he is an ambassador of hip hop in China. He might make bank, he might just be rappin in front of a newly opened supermarket in a dumpling suit with a band of laowai playing pop behind him.
Proximity Butterfly have made music in China their Great Quest. They are all up in the scene -- going to the MIDI Festival, shows everywhere, making CDs and such.
My man Boogie cracks-out in dingy Chengdu apartments puffin herb he grew and synthesizing ill beats and grafting them onto old Chinese tracks to make a palatable hybrid for the discerning Chinese listener. Of which (evidenced by the quote above) there are few.
But the scene is growing. Mad love to my peeps, whether you be in dumpling suits, Mule Uniforms or just picking up hot Chinese women as the house Dj at Babi ... its all good.
the article is pretty accurate. one point I'd add though is that the falling cost of producing music (the digital era - hardware is effectively obsolete at this point) happened ten years ago and hasn't yielded significant gains in china. they absolutely play to the lowest common denominator and anything that rises above that bar is thoroughly suppressed. I'm under constant pressure at my gigs to play music that (dumb) chinese people can understand and relate to. but I generally don't comply as it's not in the best interest for myself or the handful of people in a club of 500 that are actually listening.
All of my people in China are mixed in with the music scene in some way. My man Big Tenz just finished a many month many city tour of China with his girl Aliya and they made somewhere between 5 - 6k US a month. Music is lucrative in China. Djs can make 400 US a show at least. Some more some less. Peep Himmler's website and you can get a feel for what's going down.
I have an earlier post here about Eli, a rapper in Chengdu. He's aight (sorry homie) for US standards, but he is an ambassador of hip hop in China. He might make bank, he might just be rappin in front of a newly opened supermarket in a dumpling suit with a band of laowai playing pop behind him.
Proximity Butterfly have made music in China their Great Quest. They are all up in the scene -- going to the MIDI Festival, shows everywhere, making CDs and such.
My man Boogie cracks-out in dingy Chengdu apartments puffin herb he grew and synthesizing ill beats and grafting them onto old Chinese tracks to make a palatable hybrid for the discerning Chinese listener. Of which (evidenced by the quote above) there are few.
But the scene is growing. Mad love to my peeps, whether you be in dumpling suits, Mule Uniforms or just picking up hot Chinese women as the house Dj at Babi ... its all good.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Asia-Europe Meeting
A while back I was sitting in my friend Zhuang Jian's villa outside of Chengdu, drinking some rare pu'er, smoking herb and chatting with a collection of people there. Zhuang always had artists, musicians and vagabonds over because his house was our dream: plum, peach and cherry blossoms, tea and incense, old bamboo and potted plants, artwork and a magical view.
Anyway, I was there with two Chinese homies from the Hemp House, a French girl up from Chiang Mai to cook for a while and another Frenchman who wanders the earth collecting songs from minority groups like the Miao and Yi in China and selling the CDs for their and his profit.
I guess I didn't look like much, in my sweatpants, broken sandals and Sixers jersey. So he was disdainful of anything I said and basically kept to French for a lot of the night. Suddenly, my man Boogie who was chillin in the corner said my full name for some reason and this caught the Frenchman's attention. He turned to me and was like: Yo, are you the Sascha Matuszak, writing for Antiwar.com and such? I was like hell yeah. And then his demeanor took a 180 degree turn and he started being all pally-pally with me.
He told me I should write about how China will take over the world someday. He said he had it all written down for me and that he had been meaning to send it to me all this time, but wasn't sure of himself cuz he thought Sascha was actually some professor or something. hahaha. I have actually heard that one before. People who read my stuff then meet me are like ummmmm What? hence this blog.
I continuously digress.
The Frenchman's Blueprint for Chinese takeover went a little something like this (in late 2007):
US economic collapse followed by bailout of ridiculous proportions by cash-heavy China
Bailout puts Western banks and financial institutions in Chinese hands
Chinese VC (Venture Capitalists), backed by their State, go on a shopping spree through the US and Europe
Domestic protests in US quelled by police and military to appease MNCs who see Chinese capital as just more cash (Nationhood starts dying in the West ...)
Bailout continues for several years as WTO, IMF and World bank find themselves without legitimacy or cash and look to China to prop them up, which they do happily
UN is next in line, looking for handouts from the rich Chinese
and so on.
A Velvet Revolution if there ever was one.
Now China will naturally be affected by the Economic Crisis, but no one has as much cash as they do (USD1.9 trillion in reserves) so no one will be able to ride it out like the Chinese. Plus, the failures are coming from abroad, which in the short term means that Chinese manufacturers and exporters etc will suffer from a credit crunch, cash crunch and order crunch from the Western companies that held up China's export oriented economy.
So for the next 2 years or so, China's economy might slow down a bit, but what this really does is clear the path for all of the Chinese VCs to step in and fill the void. It clears the path for Chinese businesses of all kinds to expand as their Western rivals contract ...
And so I come to the crux of the matter: Europe and much of Asia are headed to China with hat in hand hoping for love from China. Now, I can't even begin to describe how wonderful this is for the Chinese. The world is as it should be: foreign dignitaries coming to the center of the earth to seek advice, compassion and sympathy from the stable, benevolent patriarch Zhong Guo.
I added a few links to my list of digable sits today:
I highly recommend All Roads to China, China Law Blog and Silicon Hutong for those who want to learn more about China.
Anyway, I was there with two Chinese homies from the Hemp House, a French girl up from Chiang Mai to cook for a while and another Frenchman who wanders the earth collecting songs from minority groups like the Miao and Yi in China and selling the CDs for their and his profit.
I guess I didn't look like much, in my sweatpants, broken sandals and Sixers jersey. So he was disdainful of anything I said and basically kept to French for a lot of the night. Suddenly, my man Boogie who was chillin in the corner said my full name for some reason and this caught the Frenchman's attention. He turned to me and was like: Yo, are you the Sascha Matuszak, writing for Antiwar.com and such? I was like hell yeah. And then his demeanor took a 180 degree turn and he started being all pally-pally with me.
He told me I should write about how China will take over the world someday. He said he had it all written down for me and that he had been meaning to send it to me all this time, but wasn't sure of himself cuz he thought Sascha was actually some professor or something. hahaha. I have actually heard that one before. People who read my stuff then meet me are like ummmmm What? hence this blog.
I continuously digress.
The Frenchman's Blueprint for Chinese takeover went a little something like this (in late 2007):
US economic collapse followed by bailout of ridiculous proportions by cash-heavy China
Bailout puts Western banks and financial institutions in Chinese hands
Chinese VC (Venture Capitalists), backed by their State, go on a shopping spree through the US and Europe
Domestic protests in US quelled by police and military to appease MNCs who see Chinese capital as just more cash (Nationhood starts dying in the West ...)
Bailout continues for several years as WTO, IMF and World bank find themselves without legitimacy or cash and look to China to prop them up, which they do happily
UN is next in line, looking for handouts from the rich Chinese
and so on.
A Velvet Revolution if there ever was one.
Now China will naturally be affected by the Economic Crisis, but no one has as much cash as they do (USD1.9 trillion in reserves) so no one will be able to ride it out like the Chinese. Plus, the failures are coming from abroad, which in the short term means that Chinese manufacturers and exporters etc will suffer from a credit crunch, cash crunch and order crunch from the Western companies that held up China's export oriented economy.
So for the next 2 years or so, China's economy might slow down a bit, but what this really does is clear the path for all of the Chinese VCs to step in and fill the void. It clears the path for Chinese businesses of all kinds to expand as their Western rivals contract ...
And so I come to the crux of the matter: Europe and much of Asia are headed to China with hat in hand hoping for love from China. Now, I can't even begin to describe how wonderful this is for the Chinese. The world is as it should be: foreign dignitaries coming to the center of the earth to seek advice, compassion and sympathy from the stable, benevolent patriarch Zhong Guo.
I added a few links to my list of digable sits today:
I highly recommend All Roads to China, China Law Blog and Silicon Hutong for those who want to learn more about China.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Hipsters vs. Superdorks
My man Himmler and me have this ongoing discussion about Macs and Pcs and which computer is doper. Now the arguments are getting a bit stale and now we just argue about who is better at Starcraft. Speaking of which. If anyone out there plays this game and wants to go toe to toe, please please get a hold of me. I love to smoke Starcraft.
anyway, in this here story about zombie computers, the huge elephant in the room is why Macs don't have the same problem. The story alludes to this later on page two with the quote from the Blaster virus:
"Hey Billy ... fix your software."
As far as I am concerned Macs are definitely safer, more stable and just all around better. The major reason for this is that Apple makes computers for illiterate hipsters whereas Microsoft makes computers (i guess) for computer Superdorks. If you don't remain vigilant about security and performance with your PC, it will crash and such. Hipsters don't even know what i'm talking about.
I use Macs because i know enough to know that i dont know enough.
anyway, in this here story about zombie computers, the huge elephant in the room is why Macs don't have the same problem. The story alludes to this later on page two with the quote from the Blaster virus:
"Hey Billy ... fix your software."
As far as I am concerned Macs are definitely safer, more stable and just all around better. The major reason for this is that Apple makes computers for illiterate hipsters whereas Microsoft makes computers (i guess) for computer Superdorks. If you don't remain vigilant about security and performance with your PC, it will crash and such. Hipsters don't even know what i'm talking about.
I use Macs because i know enough to know that i dont know enough.
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