2024-03-28T21:32:00Zhttps://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/oai/requestoai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/140002021-08-30T21:42:08Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Excited Insects
Hacker, Randi
China
Bugs
Feast Of The Excited Insects
Korea
Broadcast Transcript: In America, we don't celebrate bugs nearly enough. I mean, when was the last time you were happy, really happy to see a bug, spiders included? Be honest. I thought so. We might not necessarily kill them when we see them but not killing them doesn't actually count as true celebration. Now, China. There's a country that knows how to make a bug feel good. Bugs have their very own holiday in the Chinese calendar. It's called the Feast of the Excited Insects and it falls on March 5th. Celebrated in Korea, too, it marks the day when insects awaken from their long winter subterranean snooze. But it's more than just bug reawakening that's being celebrated here: it's nature's reawakening. It's spring and so the excited insects are welcomed with open hearts. And open mouths. They eat bugs in China too but that's the subject of another Postcard. #ceas #china #hacker
2014-06-11T17:56:57Z
2014-06-11T17:56:57Z
2014-06-11T17:56:57Z
2011-04-06
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14000
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0222
https://audioboom.com/posts/879351-0222-excited-insects?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/140922021-08-30T21:03:22Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Fugu Deregulation
Hacker, Randi
Japan
Fugu
Deregulation Of Fugu Chef
Broadcast Transcript: Fugu is back in the news. Fugu, you might remember, is that poisonous blowfish that the Japanese have been playing a sort of culinary Russian roulette with for centuries. Fugu prep was an art form: aspiring chefs had to train with a fugu master for at least two years then take a costly fish prep exam in order to get a license. Which seems smart given that the poison found in fugu is so lethal that even a tiny bit can kill you and every year there are reports of people dying after preparing fugu at home. And yet, the Japanese government has decided to deregulate fugu chefs so more restaurants can offer this deadly delicacy. What does this mean for the thrill-seeking diner? Better carry your will with you whenever you dine out. #ceas #japan #hacker
2014-06-16T17:48:40Z
2014-06-16T17:48:40Z
2014-06-16T17:48:40Z
2012-07-18
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14092
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0263
https://audioboom.com/posts/911169-0263-fugu-deregulation?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137142021-09-01T21:43:08Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Tibet Train
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
China
Tibet
Train
Broadcast Transcript: They said it couldn't be done! The terrain was too barren, the mountains too lofty, the task too ambitious. But the Railroad at the Top of the World linking China with Tibet is proceeding apace. Not surprising. China has a long history of doing what the rest of the world considers impossible. Think Great Wall. Think Three Gorges Dam. When the railroad is finished in 2007, it will run 695 miles from Lhasa to Golmud at nosebleeding heights of up to 16,000 feet above sea level. Opinions differ on what will happen to Tibet once it becomes a stop on China's commuter express to modernization. Meanwhile, all aboard. Next stop: Shangri-la. #ceas #china #schneiderwind #tsutsui
2014-05-22T18:16:26Z
2014-05-22T18:16:26Z
2014-05-22T18:16:26Z
2005-12-14
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13714
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0010
https://audioboom.com/posts/778789-0010-tibet-train
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138342021-09-01T20:52:26Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Capitalist Lingo
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
North Korea
Propaganda
Broadcast Transcript: Ask your average North Korean-on-the-street what they need and we'd wager that few--if any--would say "Gee, I could sure use a new dictionary of capitalist economic terminology." Still the government has published just such a thing. The 200-page volume was distributed mostly to elite members of the regime and was conceived to rectify an embarrassing ignorance on the part of the North Koreans about such things as "interest" and "principal" and "black money" which, by the way, it denounces as the product of corrupt, imperialistic, materialistic societies. Not corrupt, imperialistic or materialistic enough, however, to shun altogether: one of the aims of the dictionary is to prepare the North for increased overseas trade. Black money accepted here. #ceas #hacker #NorthKorea #tsutsui
2014-06-03T19:34:50Z
2014-06-03T19:34:50Z
2014-06-03T19:34:50Z
2007-09-05
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13834
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0091
https://audioboom.com/posts/828788-0091-capitalist-lingo
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/140962021-08-30T21:01:09Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
New York Haiku
Hacker, Randi
Haiku
New York
Traffic Sign
Japan
Broadcast Transcript: Haiku might just be considered the national poetry style of Japan. Its disciplined form restricts writers to a scant three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables each. In a novel, modern twist, it was recently adopted by the Traffic Commission in New York City as a means of perhaps getting pedestrians to pay a little more attention to where they're walking and thus avoid being flattened by vehicles. To this end, an artist has created warning signs sporting haiku messages that have been posted at high volume corners and on the walls of institutions around the city. Will this cut down on traffic-related accidents? Well, we have a haiku answer to that: haiku traffic signs? Will New Yorkers heed the words? Fuhgeddaboutit! #ceas #hacker #newyork
2014-06-16T17:54:45Z
2014-06-16T17:54:45Z
2014-06-16T17:54:45Z
2012-08-08
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14096
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0266
https://audioboom.com/posts/911173-0266-new-york-haiku?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142372021-08-30T20:33:41Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Chinese Jews
Hacker, Randi
China
Kaifeng
Persian Jews
Kaifeng Jews
Synagogue Of Purity And Goodness
Yaakov Wang
Broadcast Transcript: For the past 200 years, it's been difficult to get the answer to questions about kosherness here in Kaifeng. Once home to a thriving community of Persian Jews, Kaifeng's Jewish population became completely assimilated through intermarriage. And the Synagogue of Purity and Goodness, built in 1163 and the longtime center of Jewish religious life in Kaifeng, was destroyed in a flood. However, certain customs, such as not eating pork that were handed down from generation to generation, connected these descendants of the original Jews with their ancestors. Now there is an awakening interest among 20-somethings such as Yaakov Wang, in returning to the fold. Yaakov, has finished his formal conversion and plans to become a rabbi. Another, Xue Fei or Yonatan, plans to become a certified dentist in Israel. Can't you just hear his mother? What? Not a doctor? #China #Hacker #CEAS
2014-06-18T18:03:28Z
2014-06-18T18:03:28Z
2014-06-18T18:03:28Z
2013-06-05
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14237
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0289
https://audioboom.com/posts/1514234-0289-chinese-jews?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138402021-09-01T20:48:24Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Trial by Shy Jury
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
Japan
Japanese Justice System
Broadcast Transcript: From a criminal justice system which encouraged offenders to ask their best friends to behead them, Japan is poised to step into a new era: one of trial by jury. In order to accomplish this by 2009, Japanese people are training by watching "12 Angry Men" and staging mock trials to help the people overcome a deep cultural aversion to expressing their opinions and questioning authority. At a recent mock trial, when the judge asked the jury their thoughts on whether the criminal was guilty, a full 14 seconds went by with no response. To give you an idea of just how long that is, we'll end here, a mere 9 seconds before time is up ... #ceas #hacker #japan #tsutsui
2014-06-03T19:52:51Z
2014-06-03T19:52:51Z
2014-06-03T19:52:51Z
2007-10-17
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13840
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0097
https://audioboom.com/posts/828825-0097-trial-by-shy-jury
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138772021-09-01T20:25:49Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Bathroom Makeover
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
China
Beijing Olympics
Chinese Toilets
Bird's Nest
Water Cube
Broadcast Transcript: Beijing might have spent billions of dollars creating the very model of a modern Olympic venue but they don't know squat about bathrooms. At least not according to the world class athletes whose voluble complaints have inspired a bathroom makeover here. See, Chinese toilets are traditionally holes in the ground that you squat over. The west prefers the sit down variety. Never mind that squatting improves the quads and the glutes, squat toilets are out: Olympic athletes want seats, thank you very much. So renovation is underway at the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube and the Indoor Stadium. Dude! Let's potty! #ceas #china #hacker #tsutsui
2014-06-04T19:18:52Z
2014-06-04T19:18:52Z
2014-06-04T19:18:52Z
2008-05-14
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13877
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0122
https://audioboom.com/posts/829017-0122-bathroom-makeover
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138452021-09-01T20:45:14Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Shoeaholism
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
South Korea
Shoe Fetish
Choo, Jimmy
Blahnik, Manolo
Adams, Douglas
Broadcast Transcript: It was Douglas Adams who said that among the ailments of modern society --ennui, low birth rate, love of trivia--the obsession with shoes is most indicative of the End of History. If this is true, then it might be time to bid South Korean society farewell. Shoeaholism among Korean women has reached epidemic proportions. Enamel pumps, gem-studded sandals, Manolo Blahniks and Jimmy Choos have replaced traditional shoes. But not traditional shoe etiquette: designer name notwithstanding, they still have to come off when entering a house. Successfully avoiding cheap puns using "sole" and "Seoul," let us end with a maxim, slightly altered: shoes goeth before the fall. #ceas #hacker #SouthKorea #tsutsui
2014-06-03T20:10:07Z
2014-06-03T20:10:07Z
2014-06-03T20:10:07Z
2007-12-05
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13845
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0102
https://audioboom.com/posts/828861-0102-shoeaholism
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138862021-09-01T20:18:40Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Cows Causing Global Warming
Hacker, Randi
Global Warming
Japan
Methand
Cows
Greenhouse Emissions
Broadcast Transcript: Remember when President Reagan blamed trees for air pollution? Well now the Japanese are blaming cows for global warming. Apparently, the methane emissions from burping cows account for 5% of all global greenhouse gases. Simple subtraction would seem to indicate that 95% of all global greenhouse gases, therefore, is produced by something other than dyspeptic cows. Human activity perhaps? Still Japanese scientists are working on a dietary supplement to reduce the methane in cow burps having concluded that a digestive aid for Bessie is the roundhouse punch in the fight against global warming. So, does TKO in this case stand for "technical knock out" or "That's kinda out there." Our vote goes with the latter. #ceas #hacker #japan
2014-06-04T19:52:29Z
2014-06-04T19:52:29Z
2014-06-04T19:52:29Z
2008-08-06
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13886
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0131
https://audioboom.com/posts/832485-0131-cows-causing-global-warming
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137942021-09-01T21:08:21Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Dead Bachelors
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
China
Afterlife
Marriage
Minghun
Broadcast Transcript: Single Dead Man seeks wife. Must like dirt. No, this is not the exact text of a personal ad in the China Daily, but it might as well be. Here among the canyons near the Yellow River, the folk tradition of finding wives for dead bachelor sons is still practiced. It is known as minghun or afterlife marriage. Wishing to ensure their son's comfort in the afterlife, a bereaved mother and father will search for a dead woman to be his bride, sometimes even hiring a well-connected fixer to locate families that have recently lost a daughter. The "dowry" is then paid, the body delivered, and the corpses buried as a married couple. Instead of "'til death to us part," for these couples it's "'til death do us start." #ceas #china #hacker #tsutsui
2014-05-28T20:23:54Z
2014-05-28T20:23:54Z
2014-05-28T20:23:54Z
2007-01-21
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13794
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0065
https://audioboom.com/posts/826915-0065-dead-bachelors
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/133572021-09-01T21:47:57Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
South Korea: Hi-Tech Mecca
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
South Korea
Hi-tech Mecca
Broadcast Transcript: Greetings from South Korea, hi-tech Mecca. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, practically the entire country now has access to broadband speeds of up to 20 megabits per second. Compare that to a paltry 4 megabits per second in the United States and it's clear that South Korea has zipped past Silicon Valley in a major way. Economic crises of the late 1990s sent South Korea barreling down the hi-tech autobahn to save the country's bottom line. These days, companies from Asia to America are turning to South Korea for the latest in cellular and computer technology. So, while you're downloading the quaint, antiquated Ms. PacMan onto your cell phone, picture your fellow techies in Seoul downloading recently released feature films--at broadband speeds--into theirs. #ceas #korea #tsutsui #hacker
2014-03-21T19:37:55Z
2014-03-21T19:37:55Z
2014-03-21T19:37:55Z
2005-10-12
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13357
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0002
https://audioboom.com/posts/759824-0002-south-korea-tech-mecca
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/133582021-09-01T21:47:15Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Disney Has Feng Shui
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
China
Hong Kong
Disneyland
Fengshui
Broadcast Transcript: In the world of theme parks, feng shui has not played much of a role. After all, if you can't sell it or ride it, what's the point? So why is Disney spending big money on a feng shui consultant at its newest theme part in Hong Kong? In a word: karma. According to the New York Times, Disneyland Paris was "roundly criticized for being culturally insensitive" which turned out to be bad for the bottom line. Hong Kong Disneyland wants to avoid this same fate. Thus a feng shui expert was called in to decide, among other things, that the angle of the entry gate needed to be shifted 12 degrees and the park's walkways required bends to prevent the qi from bypassing the Magic Kingdom altogether and slipping into the China Sea. Good karma or just good marketing? Are they really that different? #ceas #china #tsutsui #hacker
2014-03-21T19:40:46Z
2014-03-21T19:40:46Z
2014-03-21T19:40:46Z
2005-10-19
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13358
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0003
https://audioboom.com/posts/759839-0003-disney-has-feng-shui
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139182021-09-01T20:01:52Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Chun Kun
Hacker, Randi
China
Chun Kun
Spring Sleepiness
Hot Chili Peppers
Broadcast Transcript: Feeling sleepy? It's spring and the Chinese believe that people often feel sleepier in the spring. They even have a name for the condition: Chun kun--spring sleepiness. Kind of poetic, isn't it? Also, kind of dangerous if you happen to be behind the wheel of one of China's approximately 24 million cars. China's roads are already among the most treacherous in the world in any season so, in an effort to prevent drivers from snoozin' while they're cruisin' in the spring, police here in the southwest are serving them free chili peppers at highway service stations. We're talking hot chilies here, folks. Raw. The kind that clean out your sinuses and your frontal lobes with one bite. I suppose you could call them authentic "pepper" uppers! #ceas #china #hacker
2014-06-06T16:04:28Z
2014-06-06T16:04:28Z
2014-06-06T16:04:28Z
2009-04-01
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13918
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0151
https://audioboom.com/posts/833494-0151-chun-kun
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138372021-09-01T20:50:16Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
@ Boy
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
China
Chinese Naming Customs
Broadcast Transcript: Chinese custom in general warns against expressing affection for a child for fear of tempting a vengeful devil to steal him away. A couple here in Beijing broke free of the bonds of this convention when they tried to name their baby @: you know like in email addresses. That symbol over the "2" on your keyboard. The parents say this reflects how much they care for the child. How? Well, the Chinese use the English word "at" to pronounce this symbol and they say it with an aspirated "t". "tah". This makes it sound something like "ai ta" which means "love him" in Mandarin. If the government accepts this--and the devil doesn't spirit the boy away -- it will make for a unique email address in the future: @@gmail.com, perhaps. #ceas #china #hacker #tsutsui
2014-06-03T19:46:56Z
2014-06-03T19:46:56Z
2014-06-03T19:46:56Z
2007-09-26
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13837
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0094
https://audioboom.com/posts/828805-0094-boy
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138262021-09-01T20:54:43Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Mount Everest Highway
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
China
Mt. Everest Highway
Mt. Everest
Great Wall
Beijing Olympics
Olympic Torch
Broadcast Transcript: If China has a national sport, well, it's got to be Extreme Engineering. The Great Wall. The Grand Canal. The Three Gorges Dam. The railroad at the top of the world. And now the Mt. Everest Highway, a 3.2 mile paved road running from the foot of the mountain to a base camp over 17,000 feet above sea level. The reason is twofold: so that the Olympic torch runners will have an easier time getting the flame to the top of the highest mountain in the world and so that more tourists will be willing to make the trek. This may spell the end for the sherpa industry but there is certain to be a boom in bumper stickers saying "This car climbed Mt. Everest". #ceas #china #hacker #tsutsui
2014-05-29T20:22:45Z
2014-05-29T20:22:45Z
2014-05-29T20:22:45Z
2007-08-08
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13826
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0088
https://audioboom.com/posts/827392-0088-mount-everest-highway
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139252021-09-01T19:50:24Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Divorce Korean-Style
Hacker, Randi
South Korea
Divorce
Broadcast Transcript: Until recently breaking up was NOT hard to do here in Korea making it a country with one of the highest divorce rates in Asia. The system allowed couples who filed papers at the local government office and paid the equivalent of a couple of bucks to obtain a divorce in under an hour. But the era of the sixty minute split up is over. No longer can couples who have had a rough weekend file on Monday morning and be quit of each other by Monday afternoon. Oh no. Now couples've got to wait at least a month or, if they have kids, three months before a judge will declare their marriage endsville. Already the number of divorce petitions and the number of actual divorces has decreased. So it seems that the deliberation-before-liberation policy is working. #ceas #hacker #SouthKorea
2014-06-06T16:28:12Z
2014-06-06T16:28:12Z
2014-06-06T16:28:12Z
2009-06-03
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13925
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0158
https://audioboom.com/posts/833519-0158-divorce-korean-style
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137682021-09-01T21:22:40Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Whale Blame
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
Japan
Whaling
World War Ii
Douglas Macarthur
Broadcast Transcript: The Japanese have taken small numbers of whales from their coastal waters for centuries, but Japan only began deep-sea whaling in the 1930s, selling the whale oil to soap makers in Europe and using the profits to fund imperial expansion. During World War II, Japanese whaling came to an end, as the nation's whaling fleet was sunk by Allied bombs and torpedoes. After the war, Japanese whaling looked all washed up, but unexpectedly strong support from Douglas MacArthur's occupation forces revived the industry. American planners figured that whale meat was a plentiful, inexpensive source of protein for the hungry Japanese masses. Thus, the U.S. provided the capital, equipment, and technical assistance to get Japan's whalers back on the high seas. So, the next time you say "Save the Whales," you might also ask "From whom?" #ceas #japan #tsutsui
2014-05-28T16:24:34Z
2014-05-28T16:24:34Z
2014-05-28T16:24:34Z
2006-08-30
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13768
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0043
https://audioboom.com/posts/825357-0043-whale-blame
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139552021-09-01T19:34:22Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Great Wall Chocolate
Hacker, Randi
China
Great Wall
World Chocolate Wonderland
Overweight Chinese Youth
Broadcast Transcript: From fortification to fatification: A chocolate replica of the Great Wall was recently made here in China. It was created for the World Chocolate Wonderland whose sole purpose is to get the Chinese to eat more chocolate. On the one hand, news reports indicate that the Chinese are concerned about the sorry state of fitness among today's overweight youth who, they fear, could not beat the Japanese in one-on-one combat if another war ever broke out between the two countries. On the other hand, they've built a replica of the Great Wall out of chocolate to boost the confection's popularity among the billion-plus potential Chinese chocoholics. Does a consumer-based economy undermine critical thinking skills? You decide. #ceas #china #hacker
2014-06-09T18:33:40Z
2014-06-09T18:33:40Z
2014-06-09T18:33:40Z
2010-04-14
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13955
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0185
https://audioboom.com/posts/875302-0185-great-wall-chocolate
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138432021-09-01T20:46:08Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Kamikaze Rap
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
Japan
Kamikaze Pilots
Kudan
Arei Raise
Rap Music
World War Ii
Broadcast Transcript: There's a flap over rap here in Japan. The rap in question: Kudan performed by the ultranationalist group Arei Raise. The song is dedicated to World War II's kamikaze pilots and uses lyrics taken from a letter written by one of the young pilots to his parents on the day of his suicide mission. The song was the winner of a contest sponsored by the Yasukuni Shrine where the souls of Japan's war dead are enshrined. Many people find it insulting that the final words of these "heroic spirits," as the kamikaze are referred to by some, have become song lyrics. At the very least, it is ironic that these young men are being immortalized using a musical style developed by the very culture that they died trying to wipe out. #ceas #hacker #japan #tsutsui
2014-06-03T20:04:13Z
2014-06-03T20:04:13Z
2014-06-03T20:04:13Z
2007-11-21
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13843
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0100
https://audioboom.com/posts/828849-0100-kamikaze-rap
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138282021-09-01T20:53:02Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Lovely Urinal
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
Ashworth, William
Japan
Yamanashi Prefecture
Koshu
Tanaka Bank
Toilet
Urinal
Broadcast Transcript: Tourists from all over Japan are flocking to Kōshū? in rural Yamanashi Prefecture to visit the historic Tanaka Bank. The structure, built at the turn of the 20th century, has been lovingly restored by a group of preservation-minded local residents. But many tourists seem less interested in the classic architecture and antique fittings than in the building's unique--some would say stunning--period toilets. A urinal in the men's room looks much like a porcelain vase, decorated with an intricate pattern of birds, leaves, and flowers. Such facilities bowl visitors over: a guide reported 80 sightseers taking photos of the urinal during just one shift. In short, toilets can hardly be pooh-poohed as tourist attractions. #ashworth #ceas #japan #tsutsui
2014-05-29T20:28:43Z
2014-05-29T20:28:43Z
2014-05-29T20:28:43Z
2007-08-22
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13828
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0090
https://audioboom.com/posts/827401-0090-lovely-urinal
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/141042021-08-30T20:50:29Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Gangnam Style
Hacker, Randi
South Korea
Gangnam Style
Gangnam-gu
Psy
Han River
Broadcast Transcript: Gangnam Style has taken the teen culture by force. The music video has gone viral and the song's creator, a dude who goes by the name of Psy, has achieved world fame with his crazy horse dance. It's a pastiche of quick cuts of locales from the Gangnam gu, the ultra-wealthy neighborhood south of the Han River here in Seoul. This neighborhood is home to trust fund babies who will spend 2000 won--about $2--on ramen for lunch then turn around and spend 6000 won on a cup of designer coffee. At least one major US magazine suggests that the video is a social commentary on the class differences in South Korea's capital city. Whatever. More importantly, the video has sparked a parody by the University of Oregon featuring their mascot, the Duck. Standing by to hear... Oppan. Jayhawk style. #ceas #hacker #southkorea
2014-06-16T18:11:51Z
2014-06-16T18:11:51Z
2014-06-16T18:11:51Z
2012-10-14
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14104
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0274
https://audioboom.com/posts/1067962-0274-gangnam-style?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/140772021-08-30T21:15:10Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Hong Zhang
Hacker, Randi
China
Art
Hong Zhang
Lawrence
Literati
Shi Yan Zhi
Broadcast Transcript: Long ago in China, in much of Asia, in fact, art was not a commodity but a pure expression of the heart. Largely done by the literati, male scholars, it took the form of poetry, calligraphy, brush painting. Finished works were hung on walls and admirers stamped their approval right on the canvas in red. In fact, there is a Chinese expression shi yan zhi which means A poem expresses what is intently on the mind. Chinese artists continue to do this through their art. One of these is Hong Zhang, whose show Haywire, opens at the Lawrence Arts Center on January 20th. Born in China and now a Lawrencian, her art draws on the literati tradition, In fact, in Hong's art, the Middle Kingdom meets the Midwest. #ceas #china #hacker
2014-06-16T17:16:49Z
2014-06-16T17:16:49Z
2014-06-16T17:16:49Z
2012-01-18
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14077
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0249
https://audioboom.com/posts/879444-0249-hong-zhang?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137732021-09-01T21:19:29Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Pop Music Battle
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
South Korea
K Pop
J Pop
Broadcast Transcript: This installment of Postcards from Asia is brought to you by the letters J and K and the number 1 with a bullet. That's J for J pop and K for K pop, and number 1 with a bullet is where they're headed on the charts in Asia. J pop stands for Japanese pop music and K pop stands for Korean pop music. For a long time K pop has been popular in Japan. And now, apparently, J pop is becoming quite popular in Korea. So much so that Korea has launched a concert series entitled "Fighting K Pop" aimed at encouraging Korean fans to support the Korean music industry. With J and K pops firmly in place, can Chinese C pop be far behind? #ceas #hacker #japan #SouthKorea #tsutsui
2014-05-28T16:46:15Z
2014-05-28T16:46:15Z
2014-05-28T16:46:15Z
2006-10-26
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13773
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0048
https://audioboom.com/posts/825394-0048-pop-music-battle
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138872021-09-01T20:17:27Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_7465col_1808_12861
Friendlies Curse
Hacker, Randi
Greene, Megan
von Holten, Leslie
China
Beijing Olympics
Five Friendlies
Fuwa
Broadcast Transcript: By now, everyone has seen the five Olympic Friendlies: the colorful mascots created to welcome this summer's Olympic Games. The little guys are also known as fuwa which means "good luck dolls" in Chinese. But are they good luck? Internet chat rooms in China are ablaze with accusations that the fuwa are somehow causally related to the recent spate of disasters to hit the Middle Kingdom because the little icons are connected with the areas hit by the disasters: the panda, for example, is from Sichuan, site of a massive earthquake; the antelope is from Tibet, site of much unrest and the little torch, well, you know about the protests. The little fish has, as yet, not been connected with any catastrophe but the Chinese are waiting and possibly thinking: Fuwa? Foo-ee! #ceas #china #greene #vonholten
2014-06-04T19:56:42Z
2014-06-04T19:56:42Z
2014-06-04T19:56:42Z
2008-08-13
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13887
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0132
https://audioboom.com/posts/832499-0133-go-believe-buns
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139272021-09-01T19:48:50Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Confuciusornis
Hacker, Randi
Martin, Larry D.
China
Confuciusornis Sanctus
Martin, Larry D.
Archaeopteryx
University Of Kansas
Confucius
Broadcast Transcript: Well, it's time to add another item to that long list you're keeping of Things China Had First. This time it's birds. More specifically, one prehistoric bird called confuciusornis sanctus. Or holy Confucius bird. Though it is younger by about 10 million years than archaeopteryx, holder of the Earliest Avian Ancestor title, it belongs on the list because of one important distinguishing characteristic: it is the first bird ancestor with a horny toothless beak along the lines of those sported by modern birds. Also, thanks to confuciusornis and the many bird fossils that have been unearthed in China since, paleontologists have new evidence that flight evolved from the trees down and not from the ground up. Holy Confucius bird, Batman! Don't that "beak" all? #ceas #china #hacker #martin
2014-06-06T16:39:04Z
2014-06-06T16:39:04Z
2014-06-06T16:39:04Z
2009-06-17
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13927
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0160
https://audioboom.com/posts/833538-0160-confuciusornis
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139132021-09-01T20:05:28Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Hotel of Doom
Hacker, Randi
North Korea
Ryugyong Hotel
Hotel Of Doom
Broadcast Transcript: If you build a luxury hotel in a city that discourages tourists from visiting, who'll stay there? It's like a bad Zen koan, isn't it? But it's not hypothetical: it refers to the Ryugyong Hotel aka The Hotel of Doom in Pyongyang, North Korea. Called "the worst building in the history of mankind" by Esquire Magazine, work was halted on it in 1992 when Russia cut off the funding. So now the building, once a symbol of the greatness of the Communist state, once pictured on postage stamps, was suddenly being airbrushed out of photographs. For the past 16 years, its empty shell has been a symbol of the country's decline. Now, however, there's talk of finishing it to the tune of two billion dollars. Reservations anybody? I can think of a few. #ceas #hacker #NorthKorea
2014-06-06T15:42:51Z
2014-06-06T15:42:51Z
2014-06-06T15:42:51Z
2009-02-04
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13913
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0146
https://audioboom.com/posts/832578-0146-hotel-of-doom
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137832021-09-01T21:15:03Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Double Spring Year
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
von Holten, Leslie
South Korea
Double Spring
Weddings
Broadcast Transcript: South Korean fiancés are under pressure and the country's esteemed fortune tellers are turning up the heat. Why? Because this lunar year has two first days of spring--one last January, and another next February--and such an anomaly is practically an astrological guarantee of marital bliss. To fuel the frenzy even further, this double spring year will be followed by the ominous Year of the Widow which pretty much everyone would argue sounds like a bad time to get married. Record numbers of couples are rushing to take advantage of this propitious time which brings to mind the proverb "Marry in haste; repent at leisure." One can't help wondering how many couples might be saying "I do" when they should be saying "I don't." #ceas #SouthKorea #tsutsui #vonholten
2014-05-28T19:46:34Z
2014-05-28T19:46:34Z
2014-05-28T19:46:34Z
2006-12-13
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13783
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0055
https://audioboom.com/posts/825432-0055-double-spring-year
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139102021-09-01T20:08:05Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_7465col_1808_12861
Greed is Bad
Hacker, Randi
Greene, Megan
South Korea
Seoul
Investments
Broadcast Transcript: From Seoul comes the story of a financial advisor who appeared on a TV talk show and said that people were making unwise investment decisions because they were too greedy. As a result, he was fired. The company justified his termination by saying that his words were out of line with [the institution's] original purpose and caused concern to investors" meaning, of course, that his words might cause investors to stop investing and maybe even withdraw some funds. South Korea is not only the most Christian country in East Asia but also the most Confucian. Both the Bible and Confucius are clear on the badness of Greed. But in today's global marketplace, economics rules which means that greed is only bad if it interferes with the bottom line. #ceas #greene #hacker #SouthKorea
2014-06-06T15:23:14Z
2014-06-06T15:23:14Z
2014-06-06T15:23:14Z
2009-01-14
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13910
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0143
https://audioboom.com/posts/832540-0143-greed-is-bad
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/128692021-09-01T21:51:57Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Chicken Feet
Hacker, Randi
China
Chicken Feet
Broadcast Transcript: American chicken feet are no longer welcome on Chinese soil. A possible congressional ban on the import of Chinese chicken for safety reasons has made China madder than a wet hen. And, though officially China is saying that imports are NOT blocked, according to US exporters, Beijing has launched a preemptive poultry strike and halted imports of US chicken. The feet, which are called Golden Phoenix Claws at dim sum establishments are popular in stews and snacks and, we’re told, make a lovely clear soup, too. You know, the Chinese market for US chicken feet ain’t chicken feed. In 2008, China bought more than 400,000 tons of Golden Phoenix Claws at a cost of 280 million dollars. That’s a lot of “buck buck bucks.” #ceas #china #hacker
2014-01-27T19:55:16Z
2014-01-27T19:55:16Z
2014-01-27T19:55:16Z
2009-09-02
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/12869
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0167
https://audioboom.com/posts/835454-0167-chicken-feet
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139682021-09-01T19:22:15Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
PLA Day
Hacker, Randi
China
People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army Day
Communist Party
August 1
Broadcast Transcript: August 1st is coming up, people, and you know what that means. People's Liberation Army Day here in China:, time to party for the Party and celebrate the army's formation back in 1927. This year, however the celebration may be a little less fun, Why? Because the government has just issued a decree banning virtual romances for soldiers for fear of security breaches. This ban includes on line dating, blogging, friending and even job hunting. So commanding officers are working on alternate ways to help their troops--especially men--find love among the barracks. They are seeking help from the Communist Party's women's federation and throwing parties so that single service men can stand in line to meet women without going on line. #ceas #china #hacker
2014-06-09T19:02:21Z
2014-06-09T19:02:21Z
2014-06-09T19:02:21Z
2010-08-04
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13968
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0198
https://audioboom.com/posts/879267-0198-pla-day
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139992021-08-30T21:42:39Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Bottoms Up
Hacker, Randi
Boyd, David
China
Moutai
Broadcast Transcript: "Bottoms up!" Or, "gan bei," as they say here in China. But what are you drinking? It could either be the authentic 144-proof sorghum-based liquor Moutai, or a clever counterfeit. Moutai has been dubbed the "national wine" in China, and is credited with the success of Mao zedong's Long March of 1934. Demand for Moutai has increased exponentially with China's economic expansion, resulting in limited supply and soaring prices which is the perfect breeding ground for bootleggers, who are doing a thriving trade. With identical bottles and labeling, and a few chemical additives for flavor, the knock-off is pretty much indistinguishable from the original. So how do you know if you're getting the real McCoy? Well, after a couple shots of either of the high octane spirits, you just won't care. #boyd #ceas #china #hacker
2014-06-11T17:54:13Z
2014-06-11T17:54:13Z
2014-06-11T17:54:13Z
2011-03-30
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13999
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0221
https://audioboom.com/posts/879347-0221-bottoms-up?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139172021-09-01T20:02:32Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Take Me Out to the Besuboru Game
Hacker, Randi
Japan
Baseball
Meiji Period
Yoshida, Eri
Kobe 9 Cruise Team
Besuboru
Broadcast Transcript: This Postcard is for every little girl who dreams of pitching in the majors. Take me out to the besuboru game! Besuboru is"baseball" in Japanese. It's a borrowed word and has been adapted to the Japanese sound set which makes no r/l distinction and does not have syllables that end in consonants. Thus besu and boru. Ever since the sport was introduced in the Meiji period, the Japanese have embraced it. And just like here, it's been the bastion of men. But Japan is about to change all that by recruiting 16-year-old Eri Yoshida, to play for the heretofore all-guy Kobe 9 Cruise pro team. They say she's got a killer knuckle ball and has struck out countless men during her tryouts. You go, besuboru girl! #ceas #hacker #japan
2014-06-06T15:53:03Z
2014-06-06T15:53:03Z
2014-06-06T15:53:03Z
2009-03-04
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13917
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0150
https://audioboom.com/posts/833479-0150-take-me-out-to-the-besuboro-game
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/140212021-08-30T21:22:09Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Robot Round Up
Hacker, Randi
Japan
Robot
Triathlete
Evolta
Broadcast Transcript: This is a Postcard about robots. In Japan. Now there's a surprise. But suspend your disbelief for a moment, if you will. Let's talk about Evolta first. Evolta is a battery-powered triathlete headed for the Hawaiian Iron Man Triathlon though it is less iron than plastic. It has three bodies--one for each of the triathlon events. Being 1/10 the size of your average triathlete, Evolta is expected to take 10 times longer to finish--an estimated 168 hours. And then there is the robot that was developed to be an automated caregiver for Japan's rapidly growing elderly population. It has no name. What it does have is 24 fingers which it uses to massage scalps and shampoo, rinse, condition and blow dry hair. Best thing about it? No tipping necessary. #ceas #hacker #japan
2014-06-11T18:42:58Z
2014-06-11T18:42:58Z
2014-06-11T18:42:58Z
2011-11-09
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14021
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0245
https://audioboom.com/posts/879428-0245-robot-round-up?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142342021-08-30T20:36:27Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Chinese Behaving Badly
Hacker, Randi
China
Middle Class
Etiquette
Beijing
Chinese Tourism
Broadcast Transcript: Back in the day, Chinese people often had to push and shove to get to the front of the food line. This was a matter of survival and, naturally, informed their overall etiquette. These days, however, the atmosphere is quite different and the Chinese middle class, more prosperous than ever, are doing a fair bit of traveling and the pushing and shoving is just not that well received. Thus the formation of the first "high end boutique finishing school" here in Beijing, where Chinese businesswomen, housewives and ladies of leisure can learn a wide range of acceptable Western social skills. A cool $15,000 buys a 12-day course which includes lessons on the proper pronunciation of "Louis Vuitton" and a class called Introduction to Expensive Sports which explains the mystique of horseback riding. Knife and fork skills are also included. After paying tuition, one wonders if they'll even be able to afford to travel abroad. #China #Hacker #CEAS
2014-06-18T17:56:07Z
2014-06-18T17:56:07Z
2014-06-18T17:56:07Z
2013-05-15
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14234
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0286
https://audioboom.com/posts/1514198-0286-chinese-behaving-badly?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/141072021-08-30T20:48:44Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Gaokao
Hacker, Randi
China
Gaokao
Broadcast Transcript: The gaokao, or national college entrance exams, are ferociously competitive here in China. Students are under great pressure to study and get a good score because spaces are limited in the top universities and a top university education is a must if you want to get ahead. Questions vary depending on the region but they are not easy. Here's an essay question from this year's exam: "An Englishman dreams of living in Xinjiang in another era. Write a story based on this." Oh. Okay. The exam is timed and students expect to be able to take the full amount allotted. Which is why there was such a huge uproar when the official bell ringer in Hunan province miscalculated and rang the bell 4 minutes and 58 seconds too soon. The unfortunate bell ringer was sentenced to a year in prison for his carelessness though he was given a year's reprieve. This sounds like a topic for one of next year's essay questions. #ceas #hacker #china
2014-06-16T18:17:37Z
2014-06-16T18:17:37Z
2014-06-16T18:17:37Z
2012-11-05
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14107
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0277
https://audioboom.com/posts/1067985-0277-gaokao?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142362021-08-30T20:34:43Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Buddhist Bars
Hacker, Randi
Japan
Vowz Bar
Buddhism
Jodo Shinshu
Shinran
"The Easy Path"
Bozu
Tokyo
Broadcast Transcript: Tired of the excessive asceticism and restrictions many Buddhist sects require in order to achieve enlightenment? Well, then jodo shinshu is the sect for you. It follows the doctrine of reliance on Amida Buddha rather than on the self because its founder Shinran, simply had no faith in humanity's ability to save itself. Also known as "The Easy Path," the sect has pretty much no rules: Alcohol? Okay. Physical pleasure and marriage. Hai! Deprivation and physical training? No way. One of their temples , if you will, is the Vowz Bar in Tokyo run by jodo shinshu monks. Here you can smell incense instead of peanuts, chant rather than sing karaoke and order alcoholic beverages with names like Perfect Bliss and Infinite Hell. Vowz is a transliteration of the Japanese word "bozu" which means monk. So drink up. Buddha will be your designated driver. #Japan #Hacker #CEAS
2014-06-18T18:01:19Z
2014-06-18T18:01:19Z
2014-06-18T18:01:19Z
2013-05-29
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14236
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0288
https://audioboom.com/posts/1514204-0288-buddhist-bars?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142592021-08-30T20:16:51Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
May the Horse Be With You
Hacker, Randi
Chinese Zodiac
Horse
Year Of The Horse
Broadcast Transcript: This is Randi Hacker with another Postcard from Asia from the KU Center for East Asian Studies.
In Japan and China and Korea and Mongolia, when someone asks you what year you were born they aren't asking for an answer like, for example, 1951, they're asking for an animal, more specifically, one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. And they are, in order of appearance: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The Year of the Horse begins on January 31st, 2014. Each animal returns on a 12 year cycle. So every time you turn a multiple of 12, it's your animal year. A little shaky on those multiples of twelve? Let's review: if you turn 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 108 next year, may the horse be with you.
From the KU Center for East Asian Studies, this is Randi Hacker. Wish you were here.
#Hacker #China #CEAS
2014-06-18T18:57:01Z
2014-06-18T18:57:01Z
2014-06-18T18:57:01Z
2014-01-08
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14259
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0311
https://audioboom.com/posts/1829385-0311-may-the-horse-be-with-you?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/141002021-08-30T20:55:57Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Whoops! Wrong Flag
Hacker, Randi
North Korea
Wrong Flag
Jumbotron
Colombia
Soccer Match
National Olympic Committee
Specsavers
Broadcast Transcript: North Korea has a long-standing and deeply-rooted feeling of distrust in, well, pretty much the rest of the world. An accident at the preliminary women's soccer match between Colombia and North Korea in Glasgow last month did not help at all. Before the teams took to the field, the national flags were displayed on the jumbotron. Pretty standard. Except, ooops, they showed the South Korean flag instead of the North Korean flag. The North Korean team was understandably upset and the kick off was delayed for more than an hour. The National Olympic Committee apologized and the North Koreans went on to win 2-0. Where the North Koreans suspected a deliberate slight, a chain of British opticians saw a marketing opp and added the blunder to an ongoing ad campaign featuring embarrassing moments of mistaken identity with the tagline, "Should've gone to Specsavers." Oh say can you see? #ceas #northkorea #hacker
2014-06-16T18:04:18Z
2014-06-16T18:04:18Z
2014-06-16T18:04:18Z
2012-09-05
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14100
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0270
https://audioboom.com/posts/937482-0270-whoops-wrong-flag?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139142021-09-01T20:05:07Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Wearable Airbags and Safety Diapers
Hacker, Randi
Japan
Old Age
Greying Population
Wearable Air Bags
Safety Diapers
Broadcast Transcript: Old age, as Bette Davis once said, ain't no place for sissies. Frailty. Loss of independence. Accidents. It's into this last category that this Postcard falls... with "falls" being the operative word. Japan is a country known for its ingenuity as well as its respect for elders. So it should come as no surprise that the Japanese have come up with wearable airbags and safety diapers to cushion the inevitable spills of old age. If elders should lose their balance and pitch over backward, the airbags inflate to protect the vulnerable hip area and back of the head. At the moment, no airbag deploys in front. This is, perhaps, a future market niche. Meanwhile, the question is: Would you buy one for YOUR grandmother? #ceas #hacker #japan
2014-06-06T15:46:20Z
2014-06-06T15:46:20Z
2014-06-06T15:46:20Z
2009-02-11
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13914
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0147
https://audioboom.com/posts/832583-0147-wearable-airbags-and-safety-diapers
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142302021-08-30T20:45:27Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Toilet Theme Park
Hacker, Randi
South Korea
Toilet Culture Park
Suwon
Samsung
Sim Jae-duck
World Toilet Association
Broadcast Transcript: It's been quite a while since we've done a real potty Postcard. Lack of material. But, all things come to those who wait as proven by this Postcard. Suwon, South Korea. The home of Samsung Electronics. And now the home of the world's first toilet culture park centered around a toilet-shaped building that was once the home of Sim Jae-duck, founder of the World Toilet Association, a group dedicated to bringing hygienic bathrooms to all world citizens. Famously born in his poor grandmother's outhouse, Mr. Sim went on to make a fortune in metal and then provided portapotties for the 2002 World Cup when it was held in Korea. His park features traditional Korean squat toilets, European bedpans, Marcel Duchamp's porcelain urinal entitled "Fountain" and a copy of Rodin's thinker thinking on, well, what do YOU think he's thinking on? By the way, there's no mention of what the Thinker is reading. #hacker #ceas #southkorea
2014-06-18T17:46:29Z
2014-06-18T17:46:29Z
2014-06-18T17:46:29Z
2013-02-27
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14230
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0282
https://audioboom.com/posts/1239381-0282-toilet-theme-park?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137872021-09-01T21:11:55Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Information Cul de Sac
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
North Korea
Computers
Internet
Intranet
Kim Jong-Il
Madeleine Albright
Information Superhighway
Broadcast Transcript: There is no internet access in North Korea. Okay. It's true: this is partly because so few people even have electricity, but it's mostly because information is so strictly controlled here in the most reclusive of countries. There is an intranet--North Korean computers that connect with other North Korean computers, but as for outside access: not readily available, even though it is said that Kim Jong Il once asked for Madeline Albright's email address. It has been suggested that North Korea has a "comprehensive official fantasy worldview" which even the smallest of outside information leaks could easily destroy. And so, instead of the information superhighway, North Korea has the information cul de sac. #ceas #hacker #NorthKorea #tsutsui
2014-05-28T19:58:00Z
2014-05-28T19:58:00Z
2014-05-28T19:58:00Z
2007-01-10
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13787
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0059
https://audioboom.com/posts/825455-0059-information-cul-de-sac
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/134132021-09-01T21:44:58Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Standing While Eating
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
Japan
Tokyo
Mcdonald
Broadcast Transcript: Standing on the Ginza, Tokyo's primo shopping zone, one sees the expected: people in a hurry to shop until they drop, and the unexpected: people eating standing up at the counters of a McDonald's franchise. Why is this unexpected? Because it bucks some 2,000 years of Japanese tradition. For millennia, Japan's complicated rules of etiquette have codified what is done and what is not done when it comes to lunch. In fact, back in the 8th Century, pouring wine while standing was considered such a no-no that suicide was recommended. Happily, eating on one's feet is no longer such a fatal social gaffe. With the Japanese consuming 15,000 tons of Idaho potatoes a month at the Golden Arches, McDonald's has made it a lot more stand up to stand up and eat in Japan.
2014-04-04T19:12:35Z
2014-04-04T19:12:35Z
2014-04-04T19:12:35Z
2005-10-05
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13413
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0001
https://audioboom.com/posts/759809-0001-standing-while-eating
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142332021-08-30T20:37:13Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Buddha Merchandising
Hacker, Randi
Buddha
Buddha Merchandise
Respecting Buddha
"Knowing Buddha" Website
Broadcast Transcript: So when it comes to the Buddha, what's kosher and what's not kosher regarding image placement? This question arises because of a recent flap over the image of Buddha on a toilet lid in a hotel in France. The "Knowing Buddha" website says that Buddha must sit on a shelf, the higher better. But there are many places the Buddha must not appear. Here, then, is a quick rundown of the protocol: Buddha's face should not smile out from the pocket of your jeans or be on your shoes or on your underwear. He does not belong on a handkerchief or a towel or a napkin. He should not be tattooed on your body and especially not below the waist. Buddha is not a toy. He is not a piece of furniture. He is not an interior design element. He is not an action figure. Do not name your dog Buddha and do not name your bar or pub Buddha's anything . In short: Do be a Buddha respecter. Don't be a Buddha disser. #hacker #ceas
2014-06-18T17:53:56Z
2014-06-18T17:53:56Z
2014-06-18T17:53:56Z
2013-03-20
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14233
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0285
https://audioboom.com/posts/1514067-0285-buddha-merchandising?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139352021-09-01T19:42:49Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Hello Kitty Ambassador
Hacker, Randi
Japan
Hello Kitty
Doraemon
Anime Ambassador
China
Hong Kong
Broadcast Transcript: Japan has just added two new words to the language of diplomacy: Hello Kitty. The popular cartoon character was recently called to serve her country as Tourism Ambassador to China and Hong Kong. She follows in the pawprints of Doraemon, the manga robot cat named Anime Ambassador last year in an attempt to "harness the power of pop culture in diplomacy." There is some irony to Kitty's appointment: China is the mother lode of faux kitty knockoffs with sales of about $800 million a year. Whatever. As one of the most powerful brands in the world, Kitty's image can be found on some 50,000 products worldwide including a deluxe leather document case. Think what you will about Miss Kitty: But you can never say she's an ambassador without a portfolio. #hacker #japan #ceas
2014-06-06T17:19:36Z
2014-06-06T17:19:36Z
2014-06-06T17:19:36Z
2009-10-14
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13935
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0169
https://audioboom.com/posts/875220-0169-hello-kitty-ambassador
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138522021-09-01T20:42:04Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Smoke-Free Olympics
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
China
Beijing Olympics
Smoking
Smoke-free
Broadcast Transcript: Beijing is talking the talk about cleaning up for the '08 Olympic Games, but it would appear that at least one segment of the population is not ready to walk the walk: Smokers. China is one of the last havens for the enthusiastic smoker. Despite an ambitious promise from the government of a "smoke-free Olympics" the market here is 350 million... and growing. So when a restaurant chain called Meizhou Dongpo responded to a call to make restaurants smoke-free, they quickly found themselves in trouble. Diners deserted the restaurant, flocking instead to the place across the street where they could light up with impunity. You know, we hear China is trying to ban smoking in government offices, too: maybe we'll soon see politicians rushing to Tennessee where the "smoke 'em if you got 'em" policy still pertains. #ceas #china #hacker #tsutsui
2014-06-03T20:37:59Z
2014-06-03T20:37:59Z
2014-06-03T20:37:59Z
2008-01-30
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13852
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0108
https://audioboom.com/posts/828927-0108-smoke-free-olympics
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139482021-09-01T19:40:16Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Year of the Tiger
Hacker, Randi
Chine
Lunar New Year
Chinese Zodiac
Year Of The Tiger
Broadcast Transcript: Xin nian kuai le! That's happy New Year in Chinese. It's a Tiger year. The Chinese zodiac runs on a 12 year cycle and each year is governed by an animal: rat, ox , tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. . Each animal has its own characteristics and they're all good. Yes. Even the rat. Every year that your age is a multiple of 12 is the year of your animal. So if you turn 12, 24 , 36, 48, 60 or--you get the picture--this year, you are a tiger. Because China's calendar is lunar, the date of their New Year slips around in our calendar. The Year of the Tiger officially begins on February 14th. So in China, the New Year is yet to come. Those of you who have already broken or forgotten your resolutions? Do over! #china #hacker #ceas
2014-06-09T18:17:03Z
2014-06-09T18:17:03Z
2014-06-09T18:17:03Z
2010-02-03
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13948
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0178
https://audioboom.com/posts/875270-0178-year-of-the-tiger
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138742021-09-01T20:27:41Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Exculpatory Breasts
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
Japan
Breast Enhancement
Serena Kozakura
Broadcast Transcript: From the exculpatory breasts file: Good news from Japan for those of you who have been looking for a legitimate reason to schedule that breast enlargement surgery: big breasts can work in your favor in a court of law. Just ask Serena Kozakura, a well-endowed Japanese actress who was recently charged with willful destruction of a man's apartment. An eyewitness testified that he saw her kick a hole in the door to gain entry after she'd been thrown out. However, measurements taken of a reconstruction of the hole in the door revealed that the hole simply wasn't big enough to allow Kozakura and her mighty breasts to wiggle through. Charges were dropped, proving that even here in Japan--get ready for the pun now -- a good offense is the breast defense. #ceas #hacker #japan #tsutsui
2014-06-04T19:04:51Z
2014-06-04T19:04:51Z
2014-06-04T19:04:51Z
2008-04-16
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13874
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0119
https://audioboom.com/posts/828979-0119-exculpatory-breasts
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/140822021-08-30T21:10:06Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Japanese Alphabets
Hacker, Randi
Japan
Hiragana
Katakana
Kanji
Samurai
Ritual Suicide
Broadcast Transcript: The Japanese are adept at hiragana. Also katakana. No. They're not Samurai methods of ritual suicide. They're alphabets. And very specific alphabets at that. Hiragana is a set of 48 phonetic symbols, known as a syllabary, that is used exclusively for words of Japanese origin. It was originally just used by women because Chinese characters or kanji was the writing system favored by the educated man. Eventually, however, hiragana was adopted by both genders. Katakana, on the other hand, is a syllabary used almost exclusively for foreign words. It was developed by Buddhist monks as a sort of shorthand and, in fact, the 51 symbols are bits taken from the more complicated kanji. So if you decide to learn Japanese, go ahead and commit hiragana and katakana. To memory, that is. No sword necessary. #ceas #hacker #japan
2014-06-16T17:27:45Z
2014-06-16T17:27:45Z
2014-06-16T17:27:45Z
2012-02-22
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14082
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0254
https://audioboom.com/posts/879452-0254-japanese-alphabets?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138112021-09-01T21:04:24Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Imperial Scrutiny
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
Japan
Japanese Imperial Compound
Princess Masako
Japanese Empress
Broadcast Transcript: Here in Tokyo, the members of the Imperial Household Agency are in an uproar over the publication of a new book about Princess Masako. It seems the book paints an unflattering picture of life in the Japanese Imperial compound. Rules and regulations are so strict that both Masako and her mother-in-law the Empress are reputedly suffering from stress-related illnesses. Of course, when it comes to being scrutinized, the Japanese Imperial family is at the top of the royal heap. To give you an idea of what we mean, it was only last year that they phased out the job of royal stool examiner... and we don't mean something you sit on. #ceas #hacker #japan #tsutsui
2014-05-29T19:31:25Z
2014-05-29T19:31:25Z
2014-05-29T19:31:25Z
2007-04-18
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13811
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0072
https://audioboom.com/posts/827112-0072-imperial-scrutiny
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138692021-09-01T20:37:04Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Married Women
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
South Korea
Korean Women
Secret Bank Accounts
Married Korean Women
Broadcast Transcript: There's marital duplicity going on here in South Korea. Namely, secret bank accounts. Put together by women. Unbeknownst to their husbands. Apparently, more than 65% of married Korean women are salting away money that they save from, among other sources, household accounts. Some of these bank accounts have as much as Won 50 million in them. That's roughly 50,000 dollars. The women say they keep their cash stash for a number of reasons: peace of mind, their own interests, so they can give money to their folks if they want and other unspecified contingencies. What's more, 63% of the women say they don't plan to tell their husbands about their private slush funds ever. And they say North Korea is the most secretive society in the world today. #ceas #hacker #SouthKorea #tsutsui
2014-06-04T18:57:57Z
2014-06-04T18:57:57Z
2014-06-04T18:57:57Z
2008-03-26
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13869
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0116
https://audioboom.com/posts/828969-0116-married-women
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/141062021-08-30T20:49:24Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Filial Piety in China Redux
Hacker, Randi
China
Filial Piety
The 24 Paragons Of Filial Piety
China's Greying Population
Broadcast Transcript: "The 24 Paragons of Filial Piety" is a sort of extreme parent-care manual. Written 600 years ago, the book features tales like the one of the son who sat awake all night without his shirt to draw mosquitoes away from his sleeping father and the one of the daughter who cut out her own liver to feed her sick mother and the one of the son who sold himself into slavery to pay for his father's funeral. Though the tales themselves may seem a bit out of date, the Chinese government is behind the general message particularly because of China's growing grey population. And so it has issued an updated edition Teach Mom to use the internet, it says. Take Dad to a film. Find a new mate for a widowed parent. Wait. What? Filial piety maybe a tradition in China, but acting as matchmaker for the parents? Awkward! Today's filially pious would probably prefer to cut out their livers than give away an elderly parent at the altar. #ceas #hacker #china
2014-06-16T18:16:24Z
2014-06-16T18:16:24Z
2014-06-16T18:16:24Z
2012-11-28
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14106
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0276
https://audioboom.com/posts/1067979-0276-filial-piety-in-china-redux?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137552021-09-01T21:28:27Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
The Friendlies Will Get You
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
China
Beijing Olympics
Olympics
Broadcast Transcript: China has the world's largest population, the tallest mountain, the longest wall and now... the most Olympic Mascots. Five. That's two more than Sydney had in 2000. They call these mascots the Olympic Friendlies and their names are Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini which, when said together -- Beijing huan ying ni -- means Welcome to Beijing. They are a fish, a panda, an Olympic flame, a Tibetan antelope and a swallow and they symbolize everything from China's diversity to the Olympic Rings themselves. Conspicuously absent are the tiger and dragon. Oh well. Given the surplus mascot merchandise that Sydney undoubtedly had to dispose of after their Olympics, it's probably just as well. #ceas #china #tsutsui #wilson
2014-05-27T20:00:27Z
2014-05-27T20:00:27Z
2014-05-27T20:00:27Z
2006-06-28
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13755
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0034
https://audioboom.com/posts/825285-0034-the-friendlies-will-get-you
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/140042021-08-30T21:40:28Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_7465col_1808_12861
Exploding Watermelons
Hacker, Randi
Peterson, Deborah
China
Jiangsu Province
Exploding Watermelons
Fenchlorfenuron
Broadcast Transcript: Explosions are nothing new here in China. The Chinese did, after all, invent gunpowder. But exploding watermelons? I kid you not. Recently, watermelons in Jiangsu province just began exploding. The cause was traced back to an overuse of a fast growth chemical which farmers applied in an attempt to get more melons to market more quickly. Alas, they added too much too late and the plan back-fired when fields of the fruit just blew up one after another, acre by acre. Watermelon is a staple food in China. It's served at breakfast, lunch and dinner. No meal is complete without a plateful of juicy red triangles. As you can see, watermelons have always been a booming market in China... just not a ka-booming one. #ceas #china #hacker #peterson
2014-06-11T18:04:58Z
2014-06-11T18:04:58Z
2014-06-11T18:04:58Z
2011-05-25
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14004
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0226
https://audioboom.com/posts/879369-0226-exploding-watermelons?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139662021-09-01T19:23:45Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Medicinal Herbman
Hacker, Randi
Japan
Japanese Gardens
Medicinal Herbman
Chinese Mugwort
Earthscape
Pakistan
Nepal
Broadcast Transcript: Japanese gardens are admired for their understated elegance, their meditation/movement fusion, their precise placement of essential elements such as water and stone. In this last way at least, Medicinal Herbman is typically Japanese: He's all about precise placement. Medicinal Herbman is a human-shaped herb garden whose herbs are planted in the anatomical area they most help. So, Chinese Mugwort, for example, which is thought to relieve shoulder pain is planted in Herbman's shoulder. His creators, a Japanese landscape team called Earthscape, want to take him round the world to teach people about healing herbs. So far he's been to Pakistan and Nepal as well as parts of his own native Japan. You might say he's well on his way to becoming an "herb-an" legend. #ceas #hacker #japan
2014-06-09T18:57:46Z
2014-06-09T18:57:46Z
2014-06-09T18:57:46Z
2010-07-21
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13966
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0196
https://audioboom.com/posts/879255-0196-medicinal-herbman
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139282021-09-01T19:46:55Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Korean Spelling Champ
Hacker, Randi
South Korea
Spelling
Akeelah And The Bee
Seo Ji-won
Scripps National Spelling Bee
Broadcast Transcript: She's a sixth grader. She's a champion speller. Her favorite word is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. She credits Akeelah and the Bee for inspiring her interest in spelling. She made it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee two years in a row. And here's the part that gives this story its so whatitude if you will: her name is Seo Ji-won, she lives in Korea and she learned her fluent English studying at home with her mother and by watching English TV, especially game shows. She has never lived abroad nor attended any English cram schools. Though she didn't reach the spelling final in 2008, she is hoping to be the champion of the world in 2009 to, in her words "show that Koreans have good English skills." Can you spell motivated? #ceas #hacker #SouthKorea
2014-06-06T16:41:45Z
2014-06-06T16:41:45Z
2014-06-06T16:41:45Z
2009-06-24
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13928
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0161
https://audioboom.com/posts/833541-0161-korean-spelling-champ
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142292021-08-30T20:45:53Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Grandpa Top Model
Hacker, Randi
China
Qianping, Liu
Cross-dressing
Model
Beijing Opera
Ting
Broadcast Transcript: Cross-dressing is not a new concept in China--not much is, when you get right down to it. Anyway, there is a long and honorable tradition of men playing the parts of women in Beijing Opera performances. But in the world of youth fashion, this is a first: Liu Qianping, a 72-year-old retired farmer, came to Guangzhou to visit his granddaughter, Ting, who runs a start-up on-line fashion boutique. As fate would have it, he arrived just as the model she had hired to wear her clothes in a photo shoot cancelled. Grandpa Liu tried on a jacket and liked its style. So his granddaughter took photos of him in it and other items of clothing, posted them and China's next top model was created. Filial pietists accuse Ting of elder exploitation but Grandpa begs to differ. He considers himself lucky to be so famous and he isn't reticent about offering style advice. What's more, visits to Ting's online site have increased fourfold. 72 is the new 27. #ceas #hacker #china
2014-06-18T17:40:45Z
2014-06-18T17:40:45Z
2014-06-18T17:40:45Z
2013-02-20
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14229
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0281
https://audioboom.com/posts/1239380-0281-grandpa-top-model?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139412021-09-01T19:42:16Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Noko Jeans
Hacker, Randi
North Korea
Noko Jeans
Made In North Korea
Designer Jeans
Kim Jong-Il
Broadcast transcript: Kim Jong Il. Totalitarian dictator AND fashionista? Possibly. In an entrepreneurial breakthrough, a Swedish firm has contracted with a textile manufacturer in North Korea to produce designer jeans that will carry the label "Made in North Korea." It took two years navigating the communist bureaucratic maze without a GPS, I might add, to put the deal together. Few Western countries maintain trade or diplomatic relations with North Korea. In fact, there are only seven embassies in Pyongyang, Sweden's among them. But the Swedes persisted and the first pairs of $215 Noko jeans went on sale December 4th. In Stockholm and on-line but not in Pyongyang. According to the strict socialist dress code, jeans are forbidden. #hacker #NorthKorea #sweden #ceas
2014-06-06T17:32:45Z
2014-06-06T17:32:45Z
2014-06-06T17:32:45Z
2009-12-23
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13941
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0174
https://audioboom.com/posts/875254-0174-noko-jeans
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139712021-09-01T19:19:19Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Cow Concentrate
Hacker, Randi
Mongolia
Nomads
Winter Food
Cows
Borts
Борц
Broadcast Transcript: Our hi tech world is so smug about how it's cramming more and more stuff into smaller and smaller spaces. Well, here in Mongolia, this is nothing new. Mongolian nomads have been doing it for centuries only instead of storing and carrying, say, 1000 songs in a tiny iPod, they have been storing and carrying 1000 pounds of beef in a tiny pouch. The meat is freeze dried between late November and March in barns across the steppes. The result is борц or winter food. борц is dried to such an extreme that it is practically powder, a powder that preserves all the flavor and nutrition of a whole cow without the weight. Nomads use just a pinch to flavor a hearty beef noodle soup that sustains them through the cold months. You might call it cow concentrate. Just add water! #ceas #hacker #mongolia
2014-06-09T19:09:38Z
2014-06-09T19:09:38Z
2014-06-09T19:09:38Z
2010-08-25
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13971
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0201
https://audioboom.com/posts/879273-0201-cow-concentrate
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142492021-08-30T20:24:11Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Super Hero, Japanese Style
Hacker, Randi
Japan
Super Sentai
Japanese TV
Superhero
Power Rangers
Tadahiro Kanemasu
Tokyo
Broadcast Transcript: Super Sentai is a long-running Japanese TV series about regular humans who destroy bad guys using nothing but their color-coded uniforms, excellent martial arts skills and, you know, totally advanced weapons and gigantic robotic vehicles shaped like animals. The Super Sentai were the inspiration for America's very successful Power Rangers and, in a stunning full-circle kind of thing, a new hero, who dresses like a Power Ranger, has appeared here in Tokyo. Tadahiro Kanemasu, a clerk at an organic grocery store, dons his green, dollar store Power Ranger mask and costume and, during his down time, helps the elderly and mothers with strollers safely up and down the treacherous stairs of a subway station in Western Tokyo. The Japanese in general tend to be uncomfortable with accepting help. Obligation issues. But the mask takes care of that. Who was that masked man? Exactly. #Japan #Hacker #CEAS
2014-06-18T18:36:47Z
2014-06-18T18:36:47Z
2014-06-18T18:36:47Z
2013-10-02
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14249
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0301
https://audioboom.com/posts/1648812-0301super-hero-japanese-style?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139262021-09-01T19:49:22Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Mudslinging Festival
Hacker, Randi
Varner, Mindy
Japan
Hadaka Matsuri
Naked Festivals
Musubi Shrine
New Year
Shinto
Mud Pit Wrestling
Broadcast Transcript: For some Japanese, getting naked in public with a few hundred of their closest friends is a fantastic way to spend a cold winter day. Dozens of midwinter "hadaka matsuri"--or "naked festivals"--take place annually. One such example is Chiba prefecture's Mud Festival held each February. Scores of men clad in nothing more than a narrow loincloth gather at Musubi shrine to celebrate the New Year by getting down and dirty. At a signal, the guys jump into a giant mud pit for some good natured roughhousing. But this isn't your ordinary run of the mill mudwrestling. No. It's actually a Shinto ritual that gives guys a chance to play in the dirt to guarantee a good harvest and plenty of good luck. And maybe even get filthy... rich while they're at it. #ceas #japan #varner
2014-06-06T16:31:02Z
2014-06-06T16:31:02Z
2014-06-06T16:31:02Z
2009-06-10
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13926
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0159
https://audioboom.com/posts/833536-0159-mudslinging-festival
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142432021-08-30T20:29:33Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Korean Army Hat
Hacker, Randi
South Korea
Rain
Army Hat
Kim Tae-hee
It's Raining Album
Korean Army
Psy
Gangnam Style
Broadcast Transcript: Here in South Korea, it doesn't matter how famous you are, if you're in the army--and Korean men are required to do about 2 years of military service--you wear your hat. This point was driven home recently when paparazzi captured the singer/actor/soldier Rain escorting Kim Tae-hee, his main squeeze and Korea's most beautiful woman, hatless. Thousands of people, mostly men, complained on-line about this breach of protocol and about the number of days he has taken off which, so far, is almost twice what the ordinary citizen would get. Rain, whose 2004 album "It's Raining" sold a million copies and who has appeared in a couple of Hollywood movies, is not the only Korean superstar who has taken his military service a bit lightly. Psy ended up doing his military service twice because he apparently neglected his duties. The Gangnam Style rocker was clearly a little too at ease. #SouthKorea #Hacker #CEAS
2014-06-18T18:23:08Z
2014-06-18T18:23:08Z
2014-06-18T18:23:08Z
2013-08-14
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14243
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0295
https://audioboom.com/posts/1597026-0295-korean-army-hat?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137932021-09-01T21:08:45Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
DMZ as a Tourist Attraction
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
von Holten, Leslie
North Korea
DMZ
Vacations
Tourism
Broadcast Transcript: Possible injury or death as the result of enemy action may not be high on your list of "Things You Look For In a Vacation Spot" but that doesn't seem to be a concern for the growing number of tourists flocking to the DMZ. The most heavily fortified border in the world, running between the two Koreas, is currently being promoted as a "unique sightseeing destination." Attractions include razor wire, a dank underground tunnel, and the persistent glares of North Korean soldiers on the other side, and let's not forget the land mines. Wondering what souvenir to bring to those at home? Perhaps tea towels with the U.N. logo would be appreciated, but only if the gift shop runs out of the "My parents visited the DMZ and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" option. #ceas #NorthKorea #SouthKorea #tsutsui #vonholten
2014-05-28T20:21:43Z
2014-05-28T20:21:43Z
2014-05-28T20:21:43Z
2007-02-14
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13793
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0064
https://audioboom.com/posts/826901-0064-dmz-as-a-tourist-attraction
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/140792021-08-30T21:13:34Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Shanghai Music
Hacker, Randi
China
Chinese Traditional Music
Lun, Ling
Confucius
Guzheng
Dizi
Erhu
Shun
Broadcast Transcript: According to Chinese legend, music was first made back in 1122 BCE by one Ling Lun on bamboo pipes that were tuned to the songs of birds. Shun, one of the three Sage Kings of Antiquity, is said to have tuned all the instruments and thus brought harmony to the world. Traditional instruments -- such as those played by the Chamber Ensemble of the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra at the Lied on February 13--include a bamboo flute called the dizi, a zither called the guzheng, and the erhu, a two stringed instrument played with a bow. Confucius, who had something to say about everything, had something to say about music, too: When music and courtesy are better understood and appreciated, there will be no war. Hold the thought. #ceas #china #hacker
2014-06-16T17:21:52Z
2014-06-16T17:21:52Z
2014-06-16T17:21:52Z
2012-02-01
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14079
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0251
https://audioboom.com/posts/879447-0251-shanghai-music?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139832021-08-30T21:48:04Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_7465col_1808_12861
Chinese Afterlife
Hacker, Randi
Greene, Megan
China
Afterlife
Deathocracy
Bureaucracy
Ancestor Worship
Shang Dynasty
Broadcast Transcript: Is the afterlife, like, the best vacation spot ever or is it just your standard bureaucracy with a rigid power structure and officials ranked according to seniority? Written evidence from the Shang Dynasty of 3000 plus years ago indicates that the Chinese came down firmly on the side of a bureaucratic system with a set up that was pretty much the same here as it was in the hereafter. The junior dead, the more recently ancestorized, took care of the small stuff while the senior dead, those with more death experience, took care of the bigger things. Ancestor worship itself was not about remembering people as they were in life but rather about currying favor among the more influential members of the deathocracy. Knowing who to approach was key: you might ask a newer ancestor to make an offering on your behalf to an even older ancestor. Welcome to hierarchy on the higher plane. #ceas #china #hacker #greene
2014-06-09T19:34:39Z
2014-06-09T19:34:39Z
2014-06-09T19:34:39Z
2010-12-08
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13983
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0213
https://audioboom.com/posts/879320-0213-chinese-afterlife?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137312021-09-01T21:32:07Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Face Fixing Cameras
Boyd, David
Japan
Face Fixing Camera
Broadcast Transcript: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder--or on the screen of a digital camera. We are our own worst critics, so few people are satisfied with the way they appear in photographs. A Japanese company recently capitalized on this fact by releasing a camera with a "beauty re-touch" function that gives you the ability to improve your look in photographs. The function allows you to alter the shape of your face, widen your eyes, whiten your teeth, apply makeup and change your skin tone; in short, make your blog profiles or facebook pictures look like the best version of yourself--or someone else. Another instance of magical Japanese technology. Only unlike Snow White's stepmother's magic mirror, this camera won't just tell you you're the fairest one of all, it will make you the fairest one of all. Say cheese---y. #boyd #ceas #hacker #japan
2014-05-23T01:49:12Z
2014-05-23T01:49:12Z
2014-05-23T01:49:12Z
2011-06-22
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13731
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0230
https://audioboom.com/posts/879378-0230-face-fixing-cameras
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/140132021-08-30T21:26:46Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Skilled Veterans Corps
Hacker, Randi
Japan
Elders
Volunteer
Tsunami
Skilled Veteran Corps
Kitanai
Kiken
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
Broadcast Transcript: Many stories have been written about the graying of Japan's population accompanied by much kvetching over the cost to the younger gen of maintaining the old. Well, here's a story that should put the kibosh on those complaints once and for all. A group of elders has volunteered to clean up the reactors damaged by the tsunami and earthquake. Calling itself the Skilled Veteran Corps, the group consists of engineers and other specialists over 60 who are able�and willing--to do a job that is kitanai, and kiken: dirty and hazardous. They insist that, really, they're the logical choice because they'll suffer less from the effects of the radiation on account of their age. So hurray for the gray. They're old. They're bold. They are kiken butt! #ceas #hacker #japan
2014-06-11T18:26:30Z
2014-06-11T18:26:30Z
2014-06-11T18:26:30Z
2011-08-31
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14013
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0237
https://audioboom.com/posts/879394-0237-skilled-veterans-corps?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142272021-08-30T20:47:44Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Big Bang Nuns
Hacker, Randi
China
Gyalwang Drukpa
Hadron Super-collider
Martial Arts
Cern
Buddhist Nuns
Geneva
Particle Physics
Broadcast Transcript: This is how the world began: not with a bang but with a spinning slap kick. At least, this is what His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa implied when he brought a group of teen-age Buddhist kung-fu nuns to visit the CERN large hadron super-collider in Geneva. The nuns demonstrated some high-energy martial arts moves while His Holiness explained to the particle physicists just how similar their energy is to the energy of the cosmos. Each gender has a unique energy and both types are needed for the cosmos to work optimally. In acknowledging the equality of female energy, His Holiness departs wildly from Buddhist tradition in which nuns were forbidden to practice martial arts. A quirky viewpoint, huh? Or should we say quarky? #hacker #china #ceas
2014-06-18T17:35:06Z
2014-06-18T17:35:06Z
2014-06-18T17:35:06Z
2013-02-06
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14227
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0279
https://audioboom.com/posts/1239373-0279-big-bang-nuns?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137522021-09-01T21:29:35Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
You Are Never Alone In China
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
China
Overpopulation
Beijing
Tai Chi
Broadcast Transcript: Here in China, you are never alone. Young couples holding hands and strolling. Citizens practicing tai chi in the park. Elderly women ballroom dancing with one another on the river front balustrade. Men with their donkey carts collecting night soil or sorting through trash. Women sweeping the sidewalks with brooms made of twigs. Business types walking swiftly to an unknown destination, chatting on their cell phones. Restaurateurs squatting outside their restaurants cleaning their bamboo steamers while live carp swim round and round in basins waiting to be steamed. Children in split pants dancing around their mothers as they brush their teeth and spit on the street. And this is at 4:55 in the morning. Makes rush hour hard to imagine, doesn't it? #ceas #china #hacker #tsutsui
2014-05-27T19:49:33Z
2014-05-27T19:49:33Z
2014-05-27T19:49:33Z
2006-05-10
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13752
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0031
https://audioboom.com/posts/825271-0031-you-are-never-alone-in-china
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139502021-09-01T19:38:17Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
NK Vacancy
Hacker, Randi
North Korea
Tourism
Mass Games
Broadcast Transcript: My fellow Americans... start packing. North Korea has eased travel restrictions for US tourists. Instead of only being allowed to visit during the Mass Games from August to October, US tourists are now invited to visit anytime, anytime at all. There are still restrictions, however, from what can be photographed to the interaction that is permissible with local people to what conversation can be had and with who. Americans' every step will be watched and overseen. Why the welcome mat now where there was, if not a locked door then certainly a limited access one? In a word: W-O-N. Money. North Korea hopes to improve its cash flow with US tourist dollars while spin doctoring their image in the eyes of the West. So c'mon over. Have a heapin' helpin' of their hospitality. North Korean, that is. Take your shoes off. Really. It's the Asian way. #hacker #NorthKorea #ceas
2014-06-09T18:20:48Z
2014-06-09T18:20:48Z
2014-06-09T18:20:48Z
2010-02-17
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13950
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0180
https://audioboom.com/posts/875276-0180-nk-vacancy
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139152021-09-01T20:04:38Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Speak of the Devil
Hacker, Randi
China
Cao Cao
Speak Of The Devil
Wei Dynasty
Broadcast Transcript: In Chinese, when they want to say "speak of the devil" they say "shuo Cao Cao, Cao Cao jiu dao" "Speak of Cao Cao and he arrives." Cao Cao was a brilliant strategist in the late 2nd and early 3rd century. He established the Wei Dynasty and installed himself as king. He was also an accomplished poet and patron of writers. So why does Cao Cao appear in this idiom? Well, possibly because he was so cunning and had an omnipresent spy network, and it was thought that, even if you had a secret battle plan, CaoCao would find out about it, show up and quash it and you along with it. Almost as if he could be everywhere at once. A lot like the devil when you think about it. #ceas #china #hacker
2014-06-06T15:48:38Z
2014-06-06T15:48:38Z
2014-06-06T15:48:38Z
2009-02-18
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13915
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0148
https://audioboom.com/posts/833474-0148-speak-of-the-devil
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137282021-09-01T21:33:26Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Fighting Old Folks
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
South Korea
Grandmothers
Taekwondo
Martial Arts
Broadcast Transcript: What could be dearer to a grandmother's heart than her grandchild's smile? Well, for several septuagenarian South Korean grandmas, smashing wooden tiles with their heads comes close. These grandmas are studying taekwondo and many of them have already earned high level black belts. Taekwondo is a martial art from Korea characterized by fast, high and spinning kicks. Many young men have to learn it as part of their military service. Presumably these grandmas have the equivalent of a 4F classification, so they're taking it for other reasons: their health and happiness. Except for sometimes forgetting the moves an hour after they learn them, the women are having a blast. "Coming here is much better than going to the hospital," says one high-kicking granny. Better outfits, too. #ceas #hacker #SouthKorea #tsutsui
2014-05-22T19:42:04Z
2014-05-22T19:42:04Z
2014-05-22T19:42:04Z
2006-04-12
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13728
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0023
https://audioboom.com/posts/824003-0023-fighting-old-folks
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137592021-09-01T21:26:53Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Smelly Movies
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
Japan
The New World Movie
Aromatherapy
Colin Farrell
Broadcast Transcript: If you ask some people in Japan what they think of the movie The New World, starring Colin Farrell as John Smith, they might tell you it stinks. But they won't necessarily mean that as an insult. A company that makes aromatherapy machines for homes has developed a fragance-emitting machine to go with this movie. Seven fragrances from rosemary to peppermint are available to be "played" along with The New World. As characters walk through the woods, for example, a scent of pine may waft through the room. In the future, movie theatres across Japan will be able to download programs to provide fragrances for other films, too. We've already got soundtracks; are "smelltracks" just around the corner? #ceas #japan #schneiderwind #tsutsui
2014-05-27T20:13:44Z
2014-05-27T20:13:44Z
2014-05-27T20:13:44Z
2006-06-26
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13759
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0038
https://audioboom.com/posts/825332-0038-smelly-movies
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142472021-08-30T20:26:16Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Government Moon Cake Fraud
Hacker, Randi
China
Moon Cake
Government Expenditure
Xi Jinping
Mid-autumn Festival
Broadcast Transcript: China's Mid-Autumn Festival falls on September 19th this year. This holiday is celebrated by reciting poetry to the full moon and eating moon cakes. Moon cakes feature an elaborately stamped pastry shell that can be filled with a variety of things: red bean paste or five different kinds of ground nuts, or lotus seed paste or salted duck egg yolk. Their roundness symbolizes the moon. Everyone, from peasant to government official gives them as gifts and, apparently, up until this year, government officials have used public funds to buy their moon cakes. This year, President Xi Jinping has made cracking down on excess the centerpiece of his administration and buying moon cakes with public funds, well, it just won't stand. Cutting back on unnecessary expenditures is always difficult but compared to, Sarah Palin's $150,000 wardrobe and John Edwards' $400 haircuts (remember those?), this is a (moon) cakewalk. #China #Hacker #CEAS
2014-06-18T18:32:26Z
2014-06-18T18:32:26Z
2014-06-18T18:32:26Z
2013-09-19
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14247
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0299
https://audioboom.com/posts/1648798-0299-government-moon-cake-fraud?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142482021-08-30T20:25:03Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Chinese Zoo Lion Fraud
Hacker, Randi
China
Tibetan Mastiff
Lion
Fraud
People's Park Zoo
Imperial Lions
Broadcast Transcript: Across dynasties here in China, imperial stone lions have guarded the entrances to imperial buildings. On the right, a male lion, his right paw resting possessively on a globe, symbolizing dominion over the world. On the left, a female lion, her left paw resting possessively on a cub symbolizing the cycle of life. The two genders appear together to balance yin and yang. Called shi2 shi1 or stone lion in Chinese, they bear a striking resemblance to dogs which might explain, in some kooky, backhanded way, the logic behind the People's Park Zoo's decision to claim that a Tibetan mastiff was an African lion. Sure, Tibetan mastiffs are large and have shaggy, mane-like fur around their heads but still there was a dead giveaway that tipped the public off. In China, dogs say "wangwang." In the US, they say "woofwoof." Whatever. Neither is the sound a lion makes in any language ..." #China #Hacker #CEAS
2014-06-18T18:34:28Z
2014-06-18T18:34:28Z
2014-06-18T18:34:28Z
2013-09-26
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14248
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0300
https://audioboom.com/posts/1648805-0300-chinese-zoo-lion-fraud?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139302021-09-01T19:45:51Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Golf and Taxes in South Korea
Hacker, Randi
South Korea
Golf
National Tax Service
Tax Dodging
Broadcast Transcript: Bad news for golf mad South Koreans: forget about teeing off if you tee off the National Tax Service. The NTS is cracking down on tax cheats by revoking memberships in pricey golf clubs. Do the math: if you can afford the steep club fees (two to three hundred thousand for a mid-level club, as much as one million dollars for one at the top level) then you should be able to pay the government. If you don't pay, you can kiss your membership goodbye. In 2007, the government confiscated 1,720 memberships, sold them to the public and generated tens of millions in won, which is what the Korean monetary unit is called. You might say these tax dodgers are playing won under par. #ceas #hacker #SouthKorea
2014-06-06T16:49:29Z
2014-06-06T16:49:29Z
2014-06-06T16:49:29Z
2009-08-05
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13930
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0163
https://audioboom.com/posts/833564-0163-golf-and-taxes-in-south-korea
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142442021-08-30T20:28:37Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Panda Poop Tea
Hacker, Randi
China
Tea
Pandas
Panda Poop
Organic Green Tea
An Yanshi
Broadcast Transcript: Starbucks ushered in the era of the ridiculously expensive cup of coffee but even they would be surprised by a $200 cup of tea, don't you think? Still, an entrepreneur in the New Market Economy China is growing an organic green tea that he plans to sell for just this price. The tea is fertilized using panda poop. There's really no other way to say it. An Yanshi, the brains behind this endeavor uses tons of panda guano to fertilize his tea plants. He claims that panda dung is a superfertilizer partly because it makes the tea more healthful. See, pandas feed exclusively on wild bamboo and they only really absorb maybe 30% of the nutrients, such as they are, in bamboo meaning that a full 70% is excreted and is taken up directly by the tea plant and, in turn, by you, the drinker. Prices should drop, An says. We hope so. Tea has to be steeped; it doesn't also have to be steep. #China #Hacker #CEAS
2014-06-18T18:25:01Z
2014-06-18T18:25:01Z
2014-06-18T18:25:01Z
2013-08-21
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14244
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0296
https://audioboom.com/posts/1597031-0296-panda-poop-tea?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139582021-09-01T19:30:27Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
White Day
Hacker, Randi
Japan
White Day
Giri-choco
Valentine's Day
Broadcast Transcript: The Japanese culture is one of obligation and protocol. For example: Valentine's Day. No undisciplined, bi-gender gift exchange here. Oh no. February 14th is sex specific: only women give gifts. And not just to their boyfriends but also to their male co-workers. Men have White Day a month later on March 14th. Created by a sweets manufacturer in 1980 to boost sales, White Day is more of a marketing ploy than a holiday. On White Day, you will see men scurrying about purchasing giri-choco, chocolate given out of obligation. Giri-choco might be acceptable for co-workers but not for girlfriends. So if you're thinking of giving store-bought chocolate to your sweetheart, well, for giri bout it! #ceas #hacker #japan
2014-06-09T18:39:06Z
2014-06-09T18:39:06Z
2014-06-09T18:39:06Z
2010-05-05
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13958
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0188
https://audioboom.com/posts/875307-0188-white-day
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138212021-09-01T20:57:50Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Green Woodpecker Project
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
China
Beijing Olympics
Spitting
Green Woodpecker Project
Culture Shock
Broadcast Transcript: Visitors to China experience culture shock when they see people hawkin' and spittin' everywhere from main streets to Buddhist temples. You see, spitting is considered good for the health. Well, it may be good for the health of the spitter but it certainly is not good for the health of the economy, especially now that the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are within spittin' distance, so to speak. And so, a citywide campaign known as the Green Woodpecker Project has sprung up. Volunteers stalk spitters with tissues and vidcams encouraging them to change their ways. Spitting action shots can be found on a website, presumably to gross people out enough to quit. Wait until youtube gets a hold of this... #ceas #china #hacker #tsutsui
2014-05-29T19:56:49Z
2014-05-29T19:56:49Z
2014-05-29T19:56:49Z
2007-06-27
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13821
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0082
https://audioboom.com/posts/827200-0082-green-woodpecker-project
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138802021-09-01T20:23:24Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Stroke Order
Hacker, Randi
Chinese
Chinese Writing
Chinese Characters
Stroke Order
Broadcast Transcript: English has 26 letters. Learn 'em and chances are that, silent g, silent k and the whole bough, cough, through, though and rough thing aside, you'll be able to sound out any word you come across. Chinese, on the other hand, is phonetic-lite. Knowing 2,000 characters won't help you pronounce the 2001st . So, how do you look up a character you don't know? In a word: strokes. Chinese writing is like golf: it's all about the number of strokes. Count the strokes in the unknown character, consult the list at the front of the dictionary organized by stroke number, locate your character and turn to the page it's on. Can't find your character under, say, 7? Check the list of those with 6 or 8. It's enough to give you a stroke but take heart: not even Chinese people get the stroke count right every time. #ceas #china #hacker
2014-06-04T19:27:11Z
2014-06-04T19:27:11Z
2014-06-04T19:27:11Z
2008-06-04
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13880
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0125
https://audioboom.com/posts/829022-0125-stroke-order
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/140172021-08-30T21:24:22Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Living National Treasures
Hacker, Randi
von Holten, Leslie
Japan
Living Treasures
Meiji Period
Preservers Of Important Intangible Cultural Properties
National Intangible Cultural Heritage
Bunraku
Unesco
Broadcast Transcript: Loud are the lamentations over the loss of national cultural identity in the growing homogeny of global world culture. Well, many countries are doing something about it and Japan is one of them. Not wishing to see such traditional art forms as bunraku puppetry or kimono silk dyeing vanish, Japan established Living Treasures. Begun in 1950 as a breastwork against the onslaught of Meiji Era industrialization, the program designates certain craftspeople as Preservers of Important Intangible Cultural Properties. The lofty title comes with a mandate to pass the skill along so that there will always be a master of the intangible living among us. Oh. And in the understanding that artists can't live by intangibles alone, it also comes with a very tangible stipend. #ceas #hacker #japan #vonholten
2014-06-11T18:36:35Z
2014-06-11T18:36:35Z
2014-06-11T18:36:35Z
2011-09-28
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14017
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0241
https://audioboom.com/posts/879402-0241-living-national-treasures?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137972021-09-01T21:06:59Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Blood Types
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
Japan
Blood Type
Red Sox
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Marketing
Condoms
Broadcast Transcript: According to the Japanese, you can tell a lot about a person by their blood type: Type A is the farmer, calm and responsible; Type B is the hunter, independent and creative; Type AB is humanistic, cool and sociable; and Type O is the warrior, loyal and ambitious. This is known as blood-typology and it occupies a neat little segment of Japanese pop culture. It is used for dating, and in employment, and by marketers to sell products ranging from soft drinks to condoms. Recently, the Red Sox spent a hundred mil to acquire pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka; they probably weren't even aware that he is a Type O and that they make the best bankers, politicians and... you guessed it... professional baseball players. #ceas #hacker #japan #tsutsuien
2014-05-28T20:30:12Z
2014-05-28T20:30:12Z
2014-05-28T20:30:12Z
2007-03-14
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13797
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0068
https://audioboom.com/posts/826925-0068-blood-types
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139772021-08-30T21:53:23Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Vowel Harmony
Hacker, Randi
Mongolia
Mongolian Language
Vowel Harmony
Broadcast Transcript: Many world languages contain masculine and feminine words with all that pesky adjective and article agreement that goes along with it. Some languages bypass gender altogether: English, for example, and Chinese. And then there's Mongolian. Mongolian takes the concept of gender to an entirely different level by assigning gender to vowels. Fraternization among vowels of different genders in a single word is not done: there is no such thing as a co-ed word. Thus if the first vowel in a word is masculine, every other vowel in that word must also be masculine. Ditto with feminine vowels. This is called vowel harmony. Oh, by the way, there are two neutral vowels with no gender loyalty whatsoever: You might say that they play for both teams. #ceas #hacker #mongolia
2014-06-09T19:23:12Z
2014-06-09T19:23:12Z
2014-06-09T19:23:12Z
2010-10-13
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13977
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0207
https://audioboom.com/posts/879295-0207-vowel-harmony?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139982021-08-30T21:43:48Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Tsunami
Hacker, Randi
Japan
Tsunami
The Big Wave
Buck, Pearl S.
36 Views Of Mt. Fuji
Hokusai
Fukushima
Broadcast Transcript: Usually our postcards talk about the lighter side of culture and events in China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia. Today's will be a departure from that. In light of recent events in Japan, we would do well to remember that earthquakes and tsunami are no strangers to this island nation. Structures have long been built to withstand earthquakes. Tsunami appear in art and literature: The Big Wave by Pearl Buck, for example, is about the effects of a tidal wave on a fishing village and one of the famous 36 Views of Mt. Fuji by Hokusai shows a wave with foamy grasping fingers at its apex. The nuclear meltdown adds another terrible dimension to an already devastating catastrophe. We at the Center would like to express our deep sadness and invite you to visit our website--www.ceas.ku.edu--for links to help you help Japan. #ceas #hacker #japan
2014-06-11T17:52:31Z
2014-06-11T17:52:31Z
2014-06-11T17:52:31Z
2011-03-23
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13998
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0220
https://audioboom.com/posts/879345-0220-tsunami?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142402021-08-30T20:32:01Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Bombed Shelters
Hacker, Randi
China
Shanghai
Xuhui District
Bomb Shelters
Bars
Night Clubs
Gay Bars
Wine Sellers
Clothing Stores
Manifest
The Shelter
Broadcast Transcript: In this time of reusing, recycling, repurposing, pretty much anything can become anything else: tires to playground turf, soda bottles to fleece parkas, rails to trails. Here in Shanghai, they've got bomb shelters to transform and transform them they have. The approximately 2000 shelters in the Xuhui district date back to the 60s and were built to protect people from possible air strikes from the Soviet Union. Now they stand empty. Damp and empty. Damp, clammy and empty. But their clamminess has not prevented them from being reborn as clothing shops, gay bars and wine sellers. There's an underwear store exclusively for men called MANifest and a club called The Shelter which is very popular among the underground clubbing set for its "pitch-dark" parties in which all lights and wifi are shut down and only the music--and drinks -- remain. What better spot to get bombed than a bomb shelter. #China #Hacker #CEAS
2014-06-18T18:11:43Z
2014-06-18T18:11:43Z
2014-06-18T18:11:43Z
2013-07-24
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14240
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0292
https://audioboom.com/posts/1596990-0292-bombed-shelters?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139492021-09-01T19:39:30Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Tiny Tiger
Hacker, Randi
Taiwan
Lunar New Year
Year Of The Tiger
Xin, Chen Fong
Sculpture
Broadcast Transcript: The Chinese New Year is just around the corner. There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. This year is the Year of the Tiger and it arrives on February 14th. To welcome the Year of the Tiger, Chen Fong Xin, a Taiwanese sculptor, has carved a tiger that is one tenth the size of a grain of rice. It is so small, it can barely be seen by the naked eye and he works on it using a magnifying lens. The merest breath could blow the tiny tiger away so Chen holds his breath for 60 seconds at a time and carves in rhythm with his pulse. The little sculpture is worth more 90,000 US dollars. The word for tiger in Chinese is hu. So "hu hah!" That is one costly cat . #hacker #taiwan #ceas
2014-06-09T18:18:58Z
2014-06-09T18:18:58Z
2014-06-09T18:18:58Z
2010-02-10
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13949
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0179
https://audioboom.com/posts/875274-0179-tiny-tiger
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142502021-08-30T20:23:29Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Saving Space in China
Hacker, Randi
China
Beijing
Garden On The Roof
Broadcast Transcript: The Chinese are geniuses at utilizing every inch of space. In a country that is historically overcrowded, this skill is important for survival. Chinese vegetable gardens are miracles of permaculture layout: small plants nestle under taller ones and even the very corners, hard up against telephone poles in some cases, are lush with low growing edibles. So it totally comes as no surprise, to learn that a wealthy doctor has built a fancy villa--complete with a garden--on the roof of his 26-story apartment block here in Beijing. Some claim that this is just another example of the scofflaw behavior of the very rich. Officials have given the doctor has 15 days to tear down the illegal structure down. But, don't worry: he won't be homeless. He owns a penthouse on the same roof. #China #Hacker #CEAS
2014-06-18T18:38:16Z
2014-06-18T18:38:16Z
2014-06-18T18:38:16Z
2013-09-09
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14250
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0302
https://audioboom.com/posts/1648815-0302-saving-space-in-china?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137702021-09-01T21:21:20Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Genghis Offspring
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
Mongolia
Genghis Khan
Descendants
DNA
Broadcast Transcript: Genghis Khan: conqueror, leader, extreme progenitor. It's said that as many as 16 million males in the geographic area once known as the Mongolian Empire carry the genetic signature of this 13th Century potentate. The heirs of Genghis Khan include emperors, military leaders and, for one brief, shining moment, a professor of accounting at the University of Miami. Oxford Ancestors, a DNA testing service, identified Genghis's haplotype on Thomas Robinson's Y chromosome, but another testing firm said they were wrong. So instead of being flown to Mongolia for induction into the royal line, Professor Robinson is still in Florida teaching deductions from the budget line. #ceas #hacker #mongolia #tsutsui
2014-05-28T16:32:59Z
2014-05-28T16:32:59Z
2014-05-28T16:32:59Z
2006-09-13
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13770
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0045
https://audioboom.com/posts/825369-0045-genghis-offspring
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/133302021-09-01T21:50:45Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Reinventing the Wheel
Hacker, Randi
China
Bicycles
Invention
Hexagonal
Triangular
Wheels
Broadcast Transcript: You heard it here before though maybe not first: China invented everything. From gunpowder to the wheelbarrow to paper and ink, it was made in China first. Which puts the Chinese in a bind. I mean, after you've invented everything, what's a country to do? Reinvent something. Like the wheel, for example. That old saw "Let's not reinvent the wheel" notwithstanding, a contemporary Chinese engineer has done just that. His wheels are not round. Inspired by the shape of a pencil, they are hexagonal or sometimes triangular. When mounted on a bicycle, they require a special axle and suspension system in order to provide a smooth ride. Was this really necessary? No. But perhaps non-necessity is the mother of reinvention. #china #hacker #ceas
2014-03-20T20:12:50Z
2014-03-20T20:12:50Z
2014-03-20T20:12:50Z
2009-10-28
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13330
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0171
https://audioboom.com/posts/875236-0171-reinventing-the-wheel
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/139782021-08-30T21:53:01Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Single Marriage
Hacker, Randi
Taiwan
Single Older Women
Working Women
Weddings Without Grooms
Broadcast Transcript: Taiwan, like many modern countries, finds itself with a heckuva lot more single older women than ever before. Women on career tracks are less likely to get married, not wanting to interrupt their job trajectories and, also, finding that they quite like the luxuries of the single lifestyle. And yet, here in Taiwan, the social pressure to get married still exists. Which is why some women, like Chen Wei Yi, are choosing weddings without grooms. Chen Wei Yi is a 30-year-old office worker from Taipei who has decided to marry herself. She has spent almost 6,000 US dollars on her ceremony including hiring a hall, inviting her friends and booking a honeymoon in Australia. A solo honeymoon. She says this wedding will not prevent her from marrying a suitable man should one come along. But for now, she--and perhaps more importantly, her mother--are content to have the spree without the he. #ceas #hacker #taiwan
2014-06-09T19:24:48Z
2014-06-09T19:24:48Z
2014-06-09T19:24:48Z
2010-11-03
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13978
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0208
https://audioboom.com/posts/879301-0208-single-marriage?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138502021-09-01T20:43:07Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Shaolin SUV
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
China
Shaolin
Kung Fu
Shaolin Soccer
Eightfold Path
Buddhism
Broadcast Transcript: Should monks and modernity mix? This is the question being asked around Henan province now that the head abbot of the Shaolin monastery has been given a $125,000 SUV as a perk for boosting local tourism. You may remember Shaolin monastery as the birthplace of kung fu and the eponymous Shaolin of the film Shaolin Soccer. Despite these worldly connections, some feel the gift of a luxury Sports Utility Vehicle is at odds with a monk's vow of poverty and austerity. We don't know about that: sure, Buddhism's Eightfold Path is the one to follow if you want to achieve enlightenment, but nowhere does it say that you can't drive down it. #ceas #china #hacker #tsutsui
2014-06-03T20:28:26Z
2014-06-03T20:28:26Z
2014-06-03T20:28:26Z
2008-01-02
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13850
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0106
https://audioboom.com/posts/828898-0106-shaolin-suv
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138762021-09-01T20:26:14Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
The Cat's Meow
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
Japan
Hello Kitty
Voguenippon
Dior
House Of Dior
Broadcast Transcript: As a rule, we expect to find Hello Kitty on fashion not in it. Well, VogueNippon aims to change all that. How? By making this pop culture icon--stubby legs and square body notwithstanding--into a runway model. In the April 26th issue of the glamour mag, Hello Kitty gets a makeover, shedding her no-name cutesy outfits for ensembles from the House of Dior. The little cat will also enjoy a shopping spree in Paris. And for those of you who were wondering: yes, it is the first time Dior has used a cartoon character to model their collection. But then again we can expect no less from a kitty that's always been the cat's meow. #ceas #hacker #japan #tsutsui
2014-06-04T19:16:39Z
2014-06-04T19:16:39Z
2014-06-04T19:16:39Z
2008-05-07
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13876
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0121
https://audioboom.com/posts/829015-0121-the-cat-s-meow
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/138272021-09-01T20:53:23Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Wine for Korea
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
South Korea
Oenoculture
Soju
Broadcast Transcript: South Korea may be on the cutting edge of technoculture, but when it comes to oenoculture, it doesn't know its shiraz from its merlot. Most Koreans prefer to meet their alcohol RDA by knocking back shots of soju, a clear liquor distilled from grain, not unlike vodka though sweeter. The latest free trade pact signed with the US, however, may just cause a cultural shift. The terms will greatly expand the ability of US wine makers to export their product. Who to? A growing market made up mostly of young Korean women influenced by trendy TV dramas in which wine is the adult beverage of choice. Will that be red or white? Can't say yet, but as soon as "vino," you'll know. #ceas #hacker #SouthKorea #tsutsui
2014-05-29T20:25:07Z
2014-05-29T20:25:07Z
2014-05-29T20:25:07Z
2007-08-15
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13827
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0089
https://audioboom.com/posts/827396-0089-wine-for-korea
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/142572021-08-30T20:18:04Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Kimchi Museum
Hacker, Randi
Korea
Kimchi
Kimchi Field Museum
Broadcast Transcript: This is Randi Hacker with another Postcard from Asia from the KU Center for East Asian Studies.
Kimchi is the national dish of Korea. It is eaten at all meals. It was sent to outer space in a Korean rocket. It is said to have incredible health benefits. It can be fiery hot or mild and if it doesn't turn out the same way twice, well, that's because making it is an art more than a science. So, it's no surprise that there's an entire museum here in Seoul devoted to it. At the Kimchi Field Museum, it's all kimchi all the time. Here, the kimchi devotee can read historic texts that mention kimchi, watch films about making kimchi, view the live kimchi lactobacillus through a microscope, taste kimchi, track kimchi's exportation routes and take photos of themselves with kimchi. Don't say cheese... say kimchi!
From the KU Center for East Asian Studies, this is Randi Hacker. Wish you were here.
#Korea #Hacker #CEAS
2014-06-18T18:53:28Z
2014-06-18T18:53:28Z
2014-06-18T18:53:28Z
2013-12-25
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14257
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0309
https://audioboom.com/posts/1823999-0309-kimchi-museum?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137562021-09-01T21:28:01Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Space Kimchi
Hacker, Randi
Oborny, Jaimie
Tsutsui, William
Korea
Kimchi
Space Race
Outer Space
Zero G
Broadcast Transcript: In space, no one can hear you scream... but did you know that in space no one can detect your smell either? The smell-taste connection means that food in space is not only weightless but tasteless, too. What's a flavor-starved astronaut to do? Never fear: kimchi is here. Ever since Korea decided to put a Korean national into orbit, the race to produce a space-friendly version of Korea's unofficial national food heated up. The picante pickled cabbage is a great choice for space food: It attacks cholesterol and it is super spicy which means it can overcome the smell-taste dilemma. So soon astronauts from all over the world will be able to enjoy the zesty, chili-packed punch of kimchi at zero g. #ceas #SouthKorea #tsusui #oborny
2014-05-27T20:05:10Z
2014-05-27T20:05:10Z
2014-05-27T20:05:10Z
2006-07-05
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13756
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0035
https://audioboom.com/posts/825308-0035-space-kimchi
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137742021-09-01T21:19:04Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Nuclear Celebrations
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
North Korea
Nuclear Test
Broadcast Transcript: The North Korean situation is frightening for many reasons but none, perhaps, more eerily disturbing than images of North Koreans celebrating in brightly colored costumes just days after the nation's underground nuclear test. That the celebrations were staged is believable. That the North Koreans are proud of the tests and apparently unaware of the world's condemnation is less so. It's hard to imagine that such isolation could exist in today's broadband world but when you learn that there are only 55 TVs for every 1000 households, TVs that are pre-tuned to the government station, it suddenly seems to make more sense: North Koreans don't know about the outside world. That's likely to change: If nothing else, nuclear testing should bring the outside world in. #ceas #hacker #NorthKorea #tsutsui
2014-05-28T16:48:26Z
2014-05-28T16:48:26Z
2014-05-28T16:48:26Z
2006-11-01
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13774
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0049
https://audioboom.com/posts/825401-0049-nuclear-celebrations
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/133552021-09-01T21:49:22Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Noko Jeans
Hacker, Randi
North Korea
Noko Jeans
Made In North Korea
Designer Jeans
Kim Jong-Il
Broadcast transcript: Kim Jong Il. Totalitarian dictator AND fashionista? Possibly. In an entrepreneurial breakthrough, a Swedish firm has contracted with a textile manufacturer in North Korea to produce designer jeans that will carry the label "Made in North Korea." It took two years navigating the communist bureaucratic maze without a GPS, I might add, to put the deal together. Few Western countries maintain trade or diplomatic relations with North Korea. In fact, there are only seven embassies in Pyongyang, Sweden's among them. But the Swedes persisted and the first pairs of $215 Noko jeans went on sale December 4th. In Stockholm and on-line but not in Pyongyang. According to the strict socialist dress code, jeans are forbidden. #hacker #NorthKorea #sweden #ceas
2014-03-21T19:21:36Z
2014-03-21T19:21:36Z
2014-03-21T19:21:36Z
2009-11-21
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13355
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0174
https://audioboom.com/posts/875254-0174-noko-jeans
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137772021-09-01T21:16:45Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
There's a Baby in My Stomach!
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
Japan
Pregnant
Tokyo
Commuter Trains
Broadcast Transcript: From the "Accessories for Pregnant Women in Japan" file, this just in: Rail companies in Japan are offering badges to pregnant women to encourage other riders to give up their seats for them on Tokyo's crowded commuter trains. The badges--which come in pink and blue--read "There's a baby in my stomach" and are designed to let other riders know when a woman is pregnant . One might well conclude that, if your average Japanese cannot spot an expectant mother a mile off, it might just help explain why the nation's population is in such rapid decline. But honestly, there is that early stage of pregnancy when identification badges could be helpful. They might just think about changing the text however to "Baby on Board on Board". #ceas #hacker #japan #tsutsui
2014-05-28T17:02:32Z
2014-05-28T17:02:32Z
2014-05-28T17:02:32Z
2006-11-22
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13777
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0052
https://audioboom.com/posts/825420-0052-there-s-a-baby-in-my-stomach
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/137632021-09-01T21:25:48Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Breast Increase
Hacker, Randi
Tsutsui, William
China
Breasts
Beijing Institute Of Clothing Technology
Broadcast Transcript: As frogs are to the ecosystem, are breasts a bellwether item for the state of a market economy? Could be. According to research done by the Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology--yes, you heard that right--better nutrition and sports have caused the average Chinese chest size to increase about 1 centimeter over the past 10 years, and bra producers in China are scrambling to offer bigger cup sizes. Of course, in the more advanced market economies it is understood that enhanced breast size is not contingent on better nutrition and sports but rather on better surgery and bigger implants. Could China's true capitalism be heralded by the establishment of The Beijing Institute of Bra Technology? Or is this theory just a bust? #ceas #china #hacker #tsutsui
2014-05-28T16:13:42Z
2014-05-28T16:13:42Z
2014-05-28T16:13:42Z
2006-08-02
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/13763
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0039
https://audioboom.com/posts/825338-0039-breast-increase
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/141032021-08-30T20:52:12Zcom_1808_1069col_1808_12861
Chinese Era Names
Hacker, Randi
China
Era Titles
Dynasties
Wu Zetian
Broadcast Transcript: As if keeping track of the more than 20 Chinese dynasties weren't hard enough, scholars of Chinese history also have to keep track of "era titles," arbitrarily assigned names given to a set of years by the dynastic ruler of the time. Era titles were a kind of Ancient Chinese spin technique used to affirm a ruler's sovereignty and manipulate the masses into having positive feelings about a particular time regardless of what was actually going on. Emperors could change these era titles... well, whenever: to mark a new beginning or to commemorate a successful military campaign or because the stars were aligned just so. Wu Zetian, the one woman supreme ruler, referred to two of her eras as Heavenly Granted and Perfect Satisfaction. I know, right? There were over 500 rulers in dynastic China. Do the math and be glad that this practice was discontinued. #ceas #hacker #china
2014-06-16T18:09:53Z
2014-06-16T18:09:53Z
2014-06-16T18:09:53Z
2012-11-07
Recording, oral
http://hdl.handle.net/1808/14103
en_US
Postcards from Asia;0273
https://audioboom.com/posts/1067945-0273-chinese-era-names?playlist_direction=reversed
openAccess
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
qdc///col_1808_12861/100