Amid all the NBA drama this season, it's good to see that former Houston Rockets baller Yao Ming has been pretty busy since retiring a few months ago.
Ming is now back in his hometown of Shanghai, and very busy -- he's enrolled at Shanghai Jiaotong University, pursuing a timely business plan for Yao Family Wines (his winery based in California), and continuing his charity foundation work, on top of owning the Shanghai Sharks (the basketball team that launched his career).
Once a beverage usually served in a glass of ice in China, serious wine-drinking has certainly captivated much of the Chinese bourgeois and elite in recent years (the vast favorite being French wines). Ming, as one of China's most famous and revered athletes ever, is probably the perfect presenter of Napa Valley style wines for the Chinese market.
Considering he is often credited with introducing the NBA to China -- basketball is now incredibly popular there --Ming's agency between vino and his homeland really seems like a no-brainer! Expect a lot more business ventures coming out of the Yao Ming machine in the future...
(Now that Ming has retired, I wonder how the tallest current NBA player is?)
I was in the middle of a photoshoot at one of the most beautiful resorts in Los Cabos (I love you, Capella Pedregal!) when I heard this urgent, half-laughing request for me to watch an online video before stepping into our amazing plunge pool. Slightly skeptical it was worth delaying the sprawling views of the private beach below, I impatiently scurried over to the iPad extended to me.
I watched this two-minute video and instantly blurted out, "Talk about cultural diplomacy gone wild!" The now-infamous basketball game brawl between China's military-owned Bayi Rockets and Washington DC's own Georgetown U started out as another sports diplomacy exchange, where two countries meet and display their athletic skills and sportsmanship (or lack thereof, apparently) with fellow sports practioners and fans.
Coinciding with Vice President Joe Biden's visit to China, the State Department probably thought this would enhance the formal political gesture, not completely overshadow it. But let's face it -- no political figure, no matter how high-ranking, stands a chance at competing with punches, kicks, bottle- and chair-throwing at a sports match. This basketball brawl was the face of last week's US-China visit and exchange -- Biden's visit, a little less so.
While the majority of this fiasco's blame can probably be placed upon the Chinese team's own initial aggression (according to most witnesses, including Bayi Rockets fans themselves), the fight only makes the realm of sports diplomacy even more interesting today. Ping pong diplomacy, which was pretty amazing for its time decades ago, simply doesn't represent the current global exchange of sports.
Does this brawl represent China's rise, and its inherent nonchalance (or disrespect) towards its Western frenemy? Not really, considering that fights within the Bayi Rockets schedule are not that rare no matter who they are playing against. Besides, is there really any sport that has escaped a physical altercation here and there? Even less strenuous sports like baseball have their fair share of fights, albeit sometimes awkward and silly looking (I'm thinking of that long run that has to happen before the pitcher and batter can actually swing blows).
Fights are competitive and we should expect the unexpected when it comes to fights within sporting events, which are formal competitions already. The two teams said their goodbyes after their heated exchange, but hopefully both the US and China now have a poignant reminder that what is anticipated on paper does not necessarily pan out on the streets (or in this case, the courts).
A bigger worry for the State Department is the ongoing protest by 400 foreign student workers in a cultural exchange program with a vendor for the Hershey Company in Pennsylvania. In the US on J-1 visas, the allegations these students have made do not put a pretty spotlight on the exchange program nor the all-American Hershey company. They complain of doing crazy box lifting all day, having to pay higher than average corporate housing fees (for crowded and unsanitary living conditions), and then having to survive in the US on sometimes a meager $40 per week!
We'll see how this situation ends up, but it's a horrible look for the program itself so far. This is more like cultural diplomacy gone bad, because I doubt that the aim of this exchange was to show students from China, Africa and Eastern Europe just how bad the economic situation in America truly is for its own citizens.
But that basketball fight, wow...it was brought up several times in Mexico after the video was released. People just love stuff like that, don't they? Nothing better than having technology to keep up with these things, even when you're on vacation!
South Korea continues to grow on the international stage with the latest announcement of the 2018 Winter Olympics to be held in Pyeongchang, a northeast city on the Korean peninsula which beat Munich (Germany) and Annecy (France) for the coveted hosting role.
The Olympics is all about not only sports but also the opportunity for nations to represent themselves on an extremely broad platform. Since this is the first time a Korean city will host the Winter Games, expect to see an enthusiastic approach to South Korea's continued embrace of cultural diplomacy (mainly in the areas of sports, entertainment, tourism and food) and soft power while they have millions of eyeballs upon them.
Pyeongchang's slogan is "New Horizons" and "will spread the Olympics to a lucrative new market in Asia and become a hub for winter sports in the region."
The International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s votes, which ended in the very first round this time, looked like this:
Turkish Airlines has signed Los Angeles Lakers darling Kobe Bryant as its “global brand ambassador” for the next two years. This business deal has angered the Armenian community (see Armenian genocide), with upset fans calling up the offices of the Armenian Youth Federation and demanding the group respond.
One incensed fan remarked that Kobe "should know better than to put his money before his morality."
Their anger is understandable (and yes I enjoy the Lakers, but I don't expect anything out of these ball players except for what I see on the courts) but I'd like to know...has Kobe ever actually claimed to be moral?
Ping pong is kind of everywhere right now - especially in Hollywood. An activity that was once almost exclusively relegated to images of basement rec rooms and memories of 1970s "ping pong diplomacy" between the US and China, today's ping pong game draws trendy scenesters for upscale yet casual nights (and days) out on the town.
In 2001, former vice-premier Li Lanqing and former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger played ping-pong to mark the 30th anniversary of "Sino-US ping-pong diplomacy." Xu Jingxing
Henry Kissinger and President Nixon would have probably been pleasantly surprised to see that über hip Brooklyn-based glam rock band Semi Precious Weapons threw their Monster Ball after party last night (post opening up for Lady Gaga's sold out stints at Staples Center this week) at Spin Hollywood, located in the beautiful Mondrian Hotel.
"I can't pay my rent, but I'm ******* gorgeous"
The party got started around 11:30-ish, but people were on the tables right away. Even Oscar winner Jamie Foxx took turns on the tables!
That's model/ping pong pro Sooyeon Lee. She's Korean, she's gorgeous, and she may look familiar from her appearance on this season's opener of HBO's "Entourage." Love Sooyeon! :)
The tables were full all night...
In this part of town, girls love to do everything in heels! Yes!...why not?
This guy was grooving to the DJ while playing like an expert himself!
A random moody shot for you...
The ball guy...he had quite the job last night!
The band was fabulously late, arriving around 12:45 due to some transportation issues (they were coming from downtown Los Angeles to the Strip, after all!). By this time the place was packed with excited players and those who love to watch. Thanks to Semi Precious Weapons (awesome show!), Syndicate PR, Guest of a Guest, and the Mondrian Hotel!
Lastly...the ping pong revival isn't just happening exclusively in the hip context of Hollywood - check out this WSJ piece on the sport's mainstream return in Britain, where it was invented nearly 150 years ago.
Considering that SMP Skatepark, the world's largest skatepark, is located in China's New Jiangwan City (just outside of bustling Shanghai) it's almost hard to believe that skateboarding quietly entered China only in the late 1980s. Xinhua News has a brief piece on the sport's entrance into China's cultural realm from the perspective of 31-year-old Zeng Bingfeng, who started skateboarding in 1989 after becoming intrigued by the Christian Slater flick Gleaming the Cube.
SMP Skatepark, completed in 2005, has the world's biggest vert ramp, the world's largest concrete skate bowl, and a 5,000-seat stadium.
The last photo stirred controversy in China just last year. Many people didn't appreciate seeing a Buddhist monk skateboarding outside of historic Emei Mountain Temple.
A spokesman for the temple stated that the outside world did not understand the life of a contemporary monk.
"People get their impressions from TV or movies, where monks are praying all day long, without any motivation or desire," he said. "But these days monks also enjoy sports like badminton, table tennis and skateboarding in the spare time, as well as praying. They even use the internet and mobile phones to promote Buddhism. This is not contradictory to Buddhism but actually is part of the Buddhist spirit."
Clearly an activity that transcends borders and languages, skateboarding has really only cracked the surface in most parts of the globe. Although skateboarding still has a lot of growing to do in China relative to its popularity in other Asian markets, the chronology of China's adoption of the sport is fascinating because it includes the fusion of Western culture and Eastern context as well as entrepreneurial risks in the most international sense. An example of the latter is University of Southern California alum Raph Cooper, who created She Hui (Society) Skateboards, the first domestic Chinese skateboarding company. Read more about Cooper as well as other notables such as Danny Way here.
Considering the gigantic international platform that is the World Cup, one would assume that all of those involved would be on their best diplomatic behavior - especially the team coaches. It's no wonder that French President Nicolas Sarkozy is apparently furious at his nation's head coach, Raymond Domenech, for his inappropriate etiquette. In an unusual turn of events following the South African team's victory over France (2-1), Domenech actually refused to shake hands with the host country's team coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. This is definitely not normal behavior!
Get your hands off of me, maintenant!
Many World Cup viewers have been baffled by the drama that has followed the French team. News of arguments during practice and team members storming off the field are enough to question the French team's sportsmanship and state of cohesiveness. Now that their coach has very strangely refused to shake hands with his South African counterpart, however, France can now add an even bigger embarrassment to their roster of public fouls in diplomacy via fútbol. Much of the world's eyeballs are observing this behavior and I have to admit, I find it strange that Coach Domenech is so comfortable with showing the planet his diva-like behavior.
President Sarkozy has allegedly referred to Domenech as an imbecile, with sub-normal intelligence and “incapable, incompetent and a terrible coach.” The president has also reportedly summoned his sports minister to find a solution to the future of French fútbol and assuage the incompetent diplomatic behavior displayed towards South Africa.
What will be extra interesting is to see how FIFA handles his lack of sportsmanship. FIFA has yet to start proceedings against Domenech for his social faux pas. Luckily for the captain of Les Bleus, Patrice Evra - FIFA will probably decline to take action on his decision to not show up for
his team's official pre-match press conference before the game against South Africa.
World Cup fever is everywhere and for the second time in its history, FIFA World Cup has commissioned 17 artists to participate in the Official Art Poster Edition of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. These soccer themed prints were created by artists who have "a special relation to the African continent" and include works by Barthélémy Toguo, Marlene Dumas, Wiliiam Kentridge, and Zhong Biao.
Above: Bicycle Kick by William Kentridge
Above: Red Elephant by Isolde Krams
In addition, fans can also purchase an official complete set of all the posters in the handmade portfolio shown below:
Who says art and sports don't mix? This project certainly reveals how such stereotypes are dated and invalid. The World Cup, being the majority of the planet's most highly anticipated sporting event, is an excellent opportunity to engage a project that utilizes the participants' distinct cultures and tastes upon one global platform.
South Africa's police force cross their fingers for an early US loss at the World Cup. The reason: Barack Obama (and the intense security that must handle his presence).
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