God forbid you should ever come across two or more of the Shanghai World Expo mascots in the street, at least now, thanks to Shanghai Daily, you know the proper collective noun to use when describing the furry blue monsters to the 119 operator: Brace. "I am being attacked by a brace of Haibao!" Should there be six Haibao, you would say "three brace of Haibao!" Seven? Good luck. No one has ever escaped from... [continue]

The new Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 game for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, and PSP, which was released last week, has put Shanghai golf on the (digital) map. Finally, you can afford to play Sheshan Golf Club (seriously, we think an Xbox might be cheaper than a round there). From the game's official blog: Now we head to the Far East, China, home of Sheshan International Golf Club. Sheshan International is most noted for... [continue]

Via former superstar Shanghaiist contributor Jake Newby: "The Kanye West concert originally scheduled for September 23 at Hongkou Stadium has been postponed. Organisers China West have said that it is definitely a postponement, not a cancellation, and that the gig will now take place on November 3 at Shanghai Grand Stage." Newby points out that this postponement is not due to permit problems (a la Jay Z '06), instead it was done to allow promoters... [continue]

A few updates on the Shanghaiist Happy Hour at Sasha's this Thursday: First, chicken nuggets will be served. RMB 15 a portion. It just wouldn't be a Usain Bolt party without nuggets.Second, the Just Beer beers on offer will be: James Boag's Premium Lager, Crown Lager and Pure Blonde.Crown Lager will be the beer that comes with the 50 kuai entry fee. And we are told paid attendees will also get a free baseball cap.... [continue]

Yeah yeah, we know. We're sick of the Olympics, too. But who can say no to the Boltman? What: Shanghaiist Happy Hour at Sasha's (11 Dongping Lu, near Hengshan Lu, 东平路11号 近衡山路, Tel: 6474-6628). When: Thursday, September 4, 8 pm to midnight. Drink Specials: Selected drinks half price, including the great beers from Just Beer. Music: Reggae, baby. Food: We're trying to get Sasha's to offer chicken nuggets, Usain Bolt's pre-race meal of choice. Entry:... [continue]

The Bahamas. Again. One medal for every 153,725 Bahamians. They were followed by Jamaica, Iceland, Slovenia, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Cuba, Armenia and Belarus. Of the 87 nations that won medals, China ranked No. 68. The United States was No. 46. India brought up the rear. This is all good info to have the next time you tire of your friends arguing over who really "won" the Olympics. [Source]... [continue]

Check out John Pasden's helpful tips here (and be jealous that your company doesn't subsidize the purchasing of cool smuggled gadgets).... [continue]

Summed up in 3 minutes and 37 seconds.... [continue]

Got photos of this morning's storm or the flooding that followed it that you'd like to share? Email them to photos@shanghaiist.com and they will automatically show up on our Contribute Page. Flickr users, simply tag your photos "shanghaiist".... [continue]

For those of you still dwelling on the age of a certain Chinese gymnast, we've got good news for you: Someone is more obsessed about the controversy than you! A blogger has done some internet sleuthing (see here and here) that has some people convinced that He Kexin (何可欣) is all of 14 years old (Olympic rules state that gymnasts must be 16). All the cyber-digging might be in vain, however — we doubt the... [continue]

And those reports were published by China's state-run media. On November 3, Xinhua listed He Kexin as being 13, referring to her as "this little girl" (an apt description for any of China's diminutive gold medalists). A May 23 story in China Daily listed He as being 14. Gymnasts must be 16 the year of the Olympics to be eligible to compete. He's birthday is officially listed as January 1, 1992, a rather eye-opening date... [continue]

Mildly amusing video called Chasing the Dragon - Mysterious Beijing.... [continue]

We got this via email from Josh at medalcount.com: [Olympic medals] used to be mighty impressive, what you'd expect to earn after 4 years of hard work. The most recent medals, well, perhaps not. I present: Exhibit A: The Beijing air hockey puck Exhibit B: The Torino 2006 cracked DVD So I've put up picture galleries of every Olympic medal ever made. The winter ones, I dare say, tend to be more stylish. Of course,... [continue]

An interesting inside look at how China's state-run spin machine operates from the Sydney Morning Herald. Wonder how they got their hands on this.... [continue]

That's the headline of a New York Times story about the controversy surrounding a now much-talked-about photo of the men's Olympic basketball team from Spain (See: "Spain's Olympic Basketball Team: Racist? Or just stupid?" for details). Oddly, the story has nothing to do with any possible punishments the Spaniards would face (honestly, we can't think of any — the bad PR and embarrassment should be punishment enough), but the story does offer a little bit... [continue]

Adam Minter has the answer: Having spent years reporting on this country’s insanely efficient recycling industry, it frankly seemed inconceivable to me that Chinese airports would allow perfectly good carry-on items go to waste (much less, the incinerator). And, tonight, as I arrived at Shanghai Pudong on a late evening flight from Hong Kong, I confirmed my suspicion. There, just on the other side of Customs, was this: That’s right. The Shanghai Airport authorities are... [continue]

Chuck Culpepper of the Los Angeles Times has been tracking this and as of his latest posting yesterday, the Beijing Olympics "MPC" leaders are — you guessed it — Armenia. Australia is No. 2. USA? 30th. China? 40th. (We have a feeling the Aussies might climb back to No. 1 after their efforts in the pool this morning.) Australia is not the two-time defending MPC champs, however. That honor goes to the Bahamas, which has... [continue]

"I don’t know what La Bella’s space will become afterwards—surely it will still be some kind of French Concession-esque bar/cafe where young urban hipsters and professionals hang out. Whether or not that sense of community will transfer or can be quickly rebuilt is another matter entirely." We wish Isabella all the best. [Source]... [continue]

This time security guards were stabbed to death outside of Kashgar in Xinjiang. [Source]... [continue]

A gamer's perspective on Beijing's CGI footprints at kotaku.com.... [continue]