I want to go here….

This is what China did to the Olympic Water Cube… pretty good job. Only shame is that the entrance in $30 and the average monthly income in Beijing is only 138$…

I find this a bit strange but Visit Britain have issued a set of ‘helpful tips’ to welcome foreigners into Britain for the Olympics 2012… although the intent is to steer away from stereotypes, I think that the effect is the opposite!

Here are a sample – are they accurate?

• A smiling Japanese person is not necessarily happy.
• Be careful how you pour wine for an Argentinian.
• Avoid winking at someone from Hong Kong.
• Remember Arabs are not used to being told what to do.
• Do not be alarmed if South Africans announce that they were held up by robots.
• Don’t ask a Brazilian personal questions.
• Avoid physical contact when first meeting someone from India.
• Never call a Canadian an American.
• Do not take offence if an Australian or a New Zealander makes a joke about ‘’Poms.’’
• Avoid saying ‘’thank you’’ to a Chinese compliment.
• Don’t snap your fingers if you are with a Belgian. It may be interpreted as impolite.
• Never imply Poles drink excessively.

and finally…when meeting Mexicans, it is best not to discuss poverty, illegal aliens, earthquakes, or their 1845-46 war with America.

What do you think?

Love when politics and social media come together.

After being inspired by the power of Twitter, Aron Nil thought of ways twitter could help the people of Israel. What he came up with was @TheKotel where fellow Jews tweet a prayer which Nil then prints off and takes to the Western Wall where it is believed God picks up the message quicker….but the question is… does @God tweet back?

This photo has inspired me to add a new feature to the site on a weekend (when I am too busy enjoying the sunshine to post!).

Add your captions in the comments! (and yes this is now courtesy of my new MacBook Pro – it’s so pretty!)

I love watching new ads on Youtube from around the world but this is my favourite one this week. As reported by Reuters:

North Korea’s latest launch is sure to cause much frothing…it is a locally brewed beer that promises drinkers it will help ease stress.

The impoverished state this week launched an advert on state TV for Taedonggang beer, a tipple it has been quietly brewing since shifting an entire brewery it bought in Britain to North Korea in 2003.

State TV shows almost no adverts so the beer advert is a rare step towards commercialism.

Set to chirpy music and low-quality graphics, the ad opens with a glass filling with draught beer and the slogan: “Pride of Pyongyang.”

In the ad aired on Thursday, the beer is consumed by a miner dripping with sweat and served to well-attired urban dwellers by attractive young women dressed in traditional Korean clothes.

“It represents the new look of Pyongyang,” said the ad, monitored on Friday in Seoul. “It will be a familiar part of our lives.”

The 3 minute advert (!) has a dual purpose – to sell beer internally but also to present an image externally of N.Korea. Strategically leaking a beer advert at a time when the country is threatening the world with its ‘other launches’ is an intent to send a message to the people of the western world that N. Korea is a different country to that than depicted by the western press and that there are some shared values.

For me, I see it as another form of propaganda… but isn’t all advertising?