Category: culture | 文明 | 미디어와 예술 | 人文

  • 1000 Yen Ramen wall

    Increased Japanese inflation is crushing restaurants due to the 1000 Yen Ramen wall. Ramen traditionally has been a working class food in Japan. It’s hearty, nourishing and flavoursome. Some ramen restaurants have even been listed in Michelin restaurant guides. The 1000 Yen note is the smallest denomination of note in Japanese country, rather like the…

  • January 2025 newsletter

    January 2025 newsletter introduction Welcome to my January 2025 newsletter, this newsletter marks my 18th issue. As a child 18 represented experiences denied. 18 and R18 in the UK and Ireland is broadly equivalent to Hong Kong’s ‘category III’ or the US R and NC-17 ratings. This was prior to the Marvel universe infantilising adult…

  • CNY 2025

    CNY 2025 or Chinese new year 2025 is shorthand often used as a hashtag on social media to circulate songs, sales promotions and advertisements from across China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. I started off this post into gathering some of the best examples of CNY 2025 advertising just after Christmas and there was…

  • Foreign workers + more stuff

    Foreign workers Foreign workers in Singapore parlance are people who come from around Southeast Asia and South Asia to do blue collar and pink collar jobs in the city state. In a number of Asian countries including Hong Kong and Singapore; Filipino and Indonesian workers came to care for old people at home, look after…

  • Japan Re-Emerges + more things

    Japan Re-Emerges Japan Re-Emerges is Ulrike Schaede’s riposte to the neo-liberalist dogma that Japan is done. Since the bubble era finished, corporate Japan has been reinventing itself and building blue ocean strategies to stand up and out against the rise of China and South Korea. Schade has turned this journey into a book, Japan Re-Emerges.…

  • 2024 – that was twenty twenty four

    2024 introduction This retrospective look at 2024 was inspired by a post from 2023. I reflected on the year’s events, with conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, and numerous elections worldwide. Generative AI and cryptocurrency sectors dominated the tech scene. The Farfetch-Coupang deal highlighted the influence of top luxury brands, while Richemont became a speculative takeover…

  • December 2024 newsletter

    December 2024 newsletter introduction Welcome to my December 2024 newsletter, this newsletter marks my 17th issue. MIT computer students described 17 as the least random number following research asking respondents to provide a number between 1 and 20, 17 was the most popular answer. In some Chinese dialects 17 can be considered unlucky as it…

  • 2024 Christmas advert collection

    The idea for this 2024 Christmas advert collection was two-fold. Collect and reflect on the European ad industries most creative period of work, which tends to happen at this time of the year. In advertising at this time of the year, we’re usually head-down getting things done until the middle of December, so it made…

  • AE86 + more things

    Toyota AE86 The rear-wheel drive AE86 model generation of the humble Toyota Corolla has a dedicated following. The cars were light, had twin-cam engines, a very balanced weight split and a limited slip differential. Back in the 1980s in Ireland they were a steady performer on the local rally scene. The AE86 because of its…