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For those who are a bit weary of the whole idea of corporate pavilions, Media magazine has a witty review of the pavilions of all of the Olympic TOP sponsors. Each is helpfully compared to the Olympic athlete or icon that it most resembles. Two examples:China MobileSMS a vote on your favourite Olympic photograph and receive a set of stickers and ...

From the ''you couldn't make it up'' department here in Imagethief Towers, an old-school China Daily gem:City gets tough on foreign jaywalkersBy Zhan Lisheng (China Daily)The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou is taking stern action against foreigners who break traffic rules, the public security bureau said Tuesday.It follows tough measures ...

A hysterical, must-watch video ''news'' segment from satirical newspaper The Onion, which excels at humor that stings because it skirts the edge of first-glance credibility. Hat tip: Brendan O'Kane.    

Showing that there is no level of micromanagement too infinitesimal for the Olympics, the Beijing city government has issued detailed (and I mean detailed) instructions on personal grooming and behavior to millions of households. From the Times (UK): “Men’s hair should not cover their eyebrows, ears or touch their collar,” the guide says. ...

Conan the Barbarian, age 20 Mongol General Conan! What is best in life? Conan To crush your enemies. To see them driven before you. To hear the lamentation of their women. Conan the Barbarian, age 40 Mongol General Conan! What is best in life? Conan To spend quality time with your family. To see your kids after work. To hear the precious ...

Imagethief realizes that he and much of the journalistic and blogging community have been doing a grave disservice to our readers who don't live in Beijing. We beg your forgiveness. Living in Beijing is such an all-consuming experience that we sometimes forget there is a world beyond the fifth ring road. Although we are, of course, tangentially ...

An ''anti-terrorism'' drill in Jinan: Yeah, these guys won't be difficult to target at all... Also featured in this quite clearly made-for-TV exercise, a demonstration of that most selective and discriminate of urban pacification weapons, the flame thrower. Imagethief wants to know why they didn't put the flame-thrower guys on the Segways. ...

Another year, another congressional hearing at which American technology and Internet firms are taken to task for propping up the Golden Shield. This time it's Cisco taking it on the chin, thanks to the emergence of an internal presentation in which they apparently discuss the business opportunities presented by the Great Firewall. I won't get ...

I've been looking at this message for the past four years: ''You are liable for any misuse of the contents of the advice''. Some of you may recognize this as the warning that all Chinese ATMs give you if you have the temerity to ask for a printed transaction record. It's also printed on the backs of the transaction slips themselves. There is a ...

Back when he lived in Singapore many of Imagethief's friends used to run with the Hash House Harriers, the ''drinking club with a running problem''. Imagethief, being a solitary, sober runner used to give that miss. But it did sound like a sloshing good time. Apparently there is a chapter here in Beijing as well, where, as we all know, a frosty ...