An American Ex-Pat Living And Working In East Asia
Need a kidney, go to Starbucks!
Last fall, Ausnes, 55, was one of nearly 75,000 Americans in need of a kidney. Today, she is recovering from a successful kidney transplant — thanks to her local Starbucks barista.
My brother told me about this story, it’s pretty amazing!
I am annoyed by “Junk Mail”, Erica loves it! But she loves it mostly because we get so little mail in Asia, where we live most of the time, that getting mail - even if it’s junk - is fun for Erica.
It is amazing though just HOW MUCH junk mail ends up in our mailbox! It’s hard to believe that in our day-in-age of ‘Environmental Awareness’ and over all disdain for rude marketing (SPAM, Phone Calls at Dinner Time, Mountains of Junk Mail) that the US POST OFFICE and our Federal Government Representatives are promoting MORE junk mail, not less!
A recent article in the Washington Post highlights the problem. Here are some excerpts from the story;
Chris Pearson, a state legislator in Vermont, had a sense that the people were with him when he proposed a bill last November to allow residents to block junk mail.
Then came the pushback from the postmasters, who told Pearson and other lawmakers that “standard” mail, the post office’s name for junk mail, has become the lifeblood of the U.S. Postal Service and that jobs depend on it.
Barred by law from lobbying, the Postal Service is nonetheless trying to make its case before a growing number of state legislatures that are weighing bills to create Do Not Mail registries, which are similar to the popular National Do Not Call Registry.
The Postal Service is working closely with the Direct Marketing Association, the trade group that represents retailers and the printing industry, in its new campaign — Mail Moves America — which is designed to quash the Do Not Mail initiatives.
So far in the 2008 campaign cycle, the Direct Marketing Association has made $141,877 in contributions to federal candidates, including $6,610 to Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-Del.), who chairs the subcommittee that oversees the Postal Service and does not face reelection until 2012.
Perhaps surprisingly, environmental groups — whose members say they are concerned about junk mail — are cool to the idea of a registry that prohibits marketers from sending mail to those enrolled and that fines violators.
One reason may be that most environmental groups are themselves junk mailers. They use standard mail for their solicitation letters.
Postal officials say they are aware of the environmental concerns related to junk mail. In testimony on Capitol Hill last week, Postmaster General John E. Potter told lawmakers that the Postal Service has one answer: Recycling bins positioned beneath personal mailboxes at post offices, to catch junk mail as it tumbles out.
So, which are you, a junk-mail lover or hater?
Just Born, Inc., maker of Peeps brand marshmallow candies claims that their annual Peeps survey is an important way to keep up with today’s trends and cultures.
Here are the results of the most recent survey;
“Who is cooler, the Peeps Chick or Peeps Bunny?”
– The Chick won with 59% of the vote!“How do you eat your Peeps — Fresh from the package or aged to
perfection?”
– “Fresh from the package” was the preferred way to eat your Peeps!“What are your favorite ways to enjoy Peeps?”
– The winner is…”head first”
– Our second runner up was enjoying Peeps as “decorations/crafts”
– The third place winner was “Micro-waved.”
If “Peeps came to life, what male public person or celebrity might
it become?”
The male person most resembling Peeps either in physique, colorful
attire, or sweet nature/personality is:
– Will Ferrell won with 22.1% of the votes
– Followed by Johnny Depp, Jamie Foxx, and then Justin Timberlake.“What female public person or celebrity might Peeps become?”
American’s again voted for the same three winners as last year:
– #1 — Jessica Simpson. Moving up from #3 to #1 this year
– #2 — Oprah
– #3 — Ellen DeGeneres just behind Oprah by 0.2%,
– Followed closely by Rosie O’Donnell“What male public person or celebrity is most in need of Peeps?”
– President Bush won for the second time in a row with 25.7% of the vote
– #2 - Donald Trump
– And our #3 winner — Simon Cowell
“What female public person or celebrity is most in need of Peeps?”
– Britney Spears won with more than 40% of the votes!
– Hillary Clinton was a distant second
– And Paula Abdul rounded out the top 3 females
About Just Born
Just Born, Inc., is a privately owned company founded in 1923 and
located in Bethlehem, PA. In addition to Peeps brand marshmallow
candies, Just Born also manufactures Hot Tamales, Mike And Ike,
Zours, Peanut Chews, and Teenee Beanee jelly beans. The company
employs over 560 people and markets its candy in over 50 countries.
As many of you already know, Asians possess the valuable skill of ’squatting.’ You may be thinking, “I can squat too, and I’m not Asian!” But, there is a big difference between the “Asian Squat” and the “Western Squat.”
Normally, this is just one of those interesting cultural differences that tourists and Western expats like me notice and talk about. However, due to decisions made by those who have designed and built the venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, it’s looking like it’s going to be a real issue for the tens of thousands of non-Chinese who are going to show up in August with no experience using a “squatty.”
Beijing is expecting about 500,000 foreigners to attend the Aug. 8-24 games.
At the more than 30 test events held by organizers, the presence of squat toilets at many of the new and renovated venues has drawn frequent complaints.
“Most of the Chinese people are used to the squat toilet, but nowadays more and more people demand sit-down toilets,” Yao said. “However, it will take some time for this transition.”
Beijing is reported to be spending at least $40 billion on the venues and related infrastructure, all designed to feature a modern country that has grown in three decades to a political and economic powerhouse.
Having experienced the reactions of dozens of Western tourists who come to China and encounter a ’squatty potty’ for the very first time, I think the designers of the Beijing Olympic venues have made a serious miscalculation, based on cultural ignorance, by ommitting ‘western toilets’ in the bathrooms of these multi-million dollar venues! The stories that will result will be interesting…
Passion Week (also known as Holy Week) is the time from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday (Resurrection Sunday), so named because of the passion with which Jesus willingly went to the cross in order to pay for the sins of His people. Passion Week is described in Matthew chapters 21-27; Mark chapters 11-15; Luke chapters 19-23; and John chapters 12-19. Passion Week begins with the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday on the back of a colt as prophesied in Zechariah 9:9.
It is referred to as “Passion Week” because in that time, Jesus Christ truly revealed His passion for us in what He willingly went through on our behalf.
I was in Kansas when this story broke.
I don’t know how to feel about it…
It appears that Hunan Television is going to be producing a Chinese version of “Ugly Betty.”
“Ugly Betty” is learning to speak Chinese.
A Chinese TV station says it plans to make a Chinese version of the Colombian series about a plain woman trying to fit in at a fashion company, which also spawned a hit version on U.S. television.
Ugly Betty was inspired by the Colombian telenovela, a Latin American soap drama, Yo Soy Betty, La Fea, which translates as I Am Betty, the Ugly One. the story
Reports say that the show has a budget of 150 million yuan ($21 million USD), and shooting is slated to begin in April. It will run for five seasons, or a total of 400 episodes.
It will be interesting to see if it is as successful in China as it has been in the US and Columbia.
Where have all the brain cells gone? I mean, how many times do you have to run into a light post before you make a mental note to pay better attention while walking or to stop text messaging while walking? Are pads really necessary?
Padded Lampposts Tested in London to Prevent Cell Phone Texting Injuries
People who have been injured while walking and texting on their cell phones may be in luck.
A London street is experimenting with padded lampposts to protect those not paying attention from banging into them, ITN reports.
A study conducted by 118 118, a phone directory service, found that one in 10 people has been hurt while focusing on their cell phone instead of where they were walking, ITN reports.
The test lampposts will be given a trial run in London’s East End on Brick Lane. If the trial is successful it will be rolled out in Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.
The survey found that almost two thirds of respondents lost peripheral vision while texting, and more than a quarter wanted lines on the pavement to create routes for texters to walk while using their phones.
The study claims that 68,000 people were injured in the U.K. last year while chatting or texting on their cell phone, Infomatics reports.
118 118 will provide the padding, and in return will be allowed to advertise on them.
Today we took “100 Day Photos” of Nate, and also captured a few shots of him with the drama queens (aka Elizabeth & Anna.)
Aren’t they cute?!
New research from the NPD Group finds that 50 percent of Mac users pay to download music, compared to just 16 percent of PC users.
New market research figures from the NPD Group may highlight some of the gap between users of Apple’s Macintosh computers and…well, users of those other systems. According to the NPD Group’s Digital Music Monitor, Macintosh users are considerably more likely to pay to download music, with 50 percent of all Mac users surveyed paying to download music during the third quarter of 2007 compared to just 16 percent of PC users.
hmmm!
Hi! I'm Steve Webel and this is my blog. Thanks for stopping by!For more about me.
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