Los Angeles Times

choi

(1) Jonathan Kaiman, In China, Banning Shark Fin Is Uphill Battle. LA Times, Feb 1, 2012
http://www.latimes.com/news/nati ... -shark-fin-20120201,0,3200982.story
("China, Hong Kong and Taiwan consume 95% of the world's dried shark's fins, which are most commonly prepared as a gelatinous tangle in a chicken stock-based soup. Because fins are dried, skinned, bleached and treated with ammonia before they hit the market, it is nearly impossible to determine which fins come from which species")

My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the rest.
(b) In 1970s there were many street stalls that sold shark-fin thick soup ("gen" in pinyin), which cost little and I did not believe it was authentic. Once I tried it, and there was a glob of something inside which was hard to discern. I never tried again, not ourt of environmental concen but not to make myself a fool.

(2) Mark Magnier, Some in India Wonder Whether Their Countrymen Can Take a Joke. LA Times, Feb 1, 2012.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nati ... ndia-humor-20120201,0,2535295.story

My comment:
(a) Read only the first four paragraph.
(b) This report mentions China only once, fleetingly: "'India's lost its sense of humor,' [political] cartoonist [Aseem] Trivedi said. 'If the government gags its citizens, how are we going to grow? We're going the Taliban and China way.'
(c) Harmandir Sahib
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmandir_Sahib
(Harmandir Sahib literally means Temple of God; located in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India; construction started in 1585 and completed in 1604; In the early nineteenth century, Maharaja Ranjit Singh covered the upper floors with gold, which gives it its distinctive appearance and English name of "Golden Temple"; The present day Golden Temple was rebuilt in 1764 by Maharaja Jassa Singh Ahluwalia; section 2 History; section 7 Operation Blue Star)
(d) Delhi Belly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi_Belly
(may refer to traveler's diarrhea)

(3) Hugo Martín, Hawaii Sees a Bigger Wave of Tourists. Visitor numbers dropped sharply during the recession, and Japan's earthquake and tsunami last year stifled the flow of Japanese vacationers. But tourism to Hawaii is rebounding fast. LA Times, Jan 31, 2012
http://www.latimes.com/business/ ... ii-tourism-20120131,0,4162091.story
("Hawaii in 2011 drew 32% more tourists from Australia, nearly 30% more from China and 7% more visitors from Brazil compared with the year before, according to tourism officials")

My comment: There is no need to read the rest.

(4) Meg James, Paul Telegdy finds his voice as a TV programmer. LA Times, Jan 29, 2012
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-himi-telegdy-20120129,0,1939566.story

My comment: Read only the section with the heading "The dogsbody."

(5) Alice Short, LA Times Travel Show: Taiwan knows how to draw a crowd. LA Times, Jan 28, 2012
http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/la-trb-taiwan-crowd-20120128,0,189761.story
("Periodically, three costumed and masked dancers cavorted on stage to the accompaniment of live music, which inspired large crowds to gather around the noisy celebration. Were they performing native folk dances? We're not sure")

My comment:
(a) In Taiwan, mant temples house two deities, named Seven and Eight (qi-ye and ba-ye in pinyin).
(b) Chinese folk religion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_folk_religion
(section 2.1 Gods and goddesses: Qiye and Baye)
(c) I randomly find two blog pages about the two.
(i)
(A) Todd Alperovitz, Parade in Caotun. Apr 13, 2008 (in the blog called Daily Bubble Tea)
http://thedailybubbletea.com/2008/04/13/paradecaotun/
(the penultimate photo)
(B) Caotun, Nantou
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caotun,_Nantou

(ii)
(A) Han, The Bombing of Master HanDan (part III) - The Temple Parade. March 16, 2009 (in the blog called Still Glaring From the City Lights).
http://pyrocheungs.blogspot.com/ ... dan-iii-temple.html
(B) I have not seen or heard phallus idolization or display in Taiwan, until today when I see this blog.
(C) Seven and Eight are seen in the first and fourth photos from the BOTTOM. The last was unusual in that one is tinged yellow rather than black.