IPod, IPhone, IShit

By no means I want to debase the products of Apple or their utility value, although the IPod of my wife rests since years almost unused in a drawer. This post deals with another theme.

German: Mit meinem Post will ich auf gar keinen Fall die Produkte der Firma Apple und deren Nutzwert herabwürdigen, obwohl das IPod meiner Frau seit Jahren fast unbenutzt in der Schublade altert.

No IPod, but Luo You´s old MP3-Player by Tchibo - Kein IPod, sondern Luo Yous alter MP3-Player von Tchibo

In Germany since November 9, 2007 the IPhone is available. As a cell phone abstainer I´m totally untouched by this event. How this product can enrich my life is still a secret for me. Also a real German euphoria to buy this product is seemingly still missing. It´s very clear that the German Telekom und Vodafone have another opinion, otherwise they won´t quarrel in front of the civil court in Hamburg.

Seit dem 9. November 2007 ist nun das IPhone in Deutschland erhält. Als Handy-Abstinenzler bin ich davon unberührt und kann noch keine Bereicherung meines Lebens in diesem Produkt erkennnen. Auch sonst habe ich den Eindruck, dass sich in Deutschland die Kaufeuphorie außerhalb der Medien in Grenzen hält. Telekom und Vodafon als Wirtschaftsunternehmen sehen das wahrscheinlich anders, sonst wären sie in keinen gerichtlichen Streit eingetreten.

Early monopol product of German Telekom, formerly Deutsche Bundespost – Früheres Monopol-Produkt der Deutschen Bundespost, heute Telekom

During the last days in my opinion another – personal - recognition was more remarkable: Besides IPod, IPhone, IMac etc exists IShit or more correct „Eye Shit" too. The Chinese cultural circle calls the „grain of sand", that we can find in the morning in our eyes, 眼 屎 or „yan2 shi3" in Hanyu Pinyin. This means literally translated „Eye Shit".

Bemerkenswert fand ich aber in den letzten Tagen die Erkenntnis, dass es neben IPod, IPhone, IMac usw. auch IShit oder korrekter „Eye Shit" gibt. Im chinesischen Kulturkreis wird nämlich die Sandkörner, die sich morgens in den Augen finden, 眼 屎 oder in Hanyu Pinyin „yan2 shi3" genannt. Das heißt übersetzt auf Deutsch „Augenscheiße" und im Englischen „Eye Shit".

Source of Luo You´s IShit

Besides, there is also ear shit and nose shit. How nice is the Western story about the little sand man who sprinkles sand into the eyes of the children at night to bring on dreams and sleep. Who wants to have so much shit at his head?

Übrigens gibt es auch Ohren- und Nasenscheiße. Wie nett ist da doch die Geschichte mit dem Sandmännchen in der westlichen Kultur, so in Deutschland oder England. Wer will schon so viel Scheiße am Kopf haben?

Simple Taiwanese Dishes in Germany - Einfache taiwanesische Gerichte in Deutschland

It mustn´t be deep-fried guppies, oops, fried sardines to get the real Taiwan food taste in Germany.

German: Es müssen nicht immer frittierte Guppies sein, äh gebratene Sardinen, um auch in Deutschland - wie heute Mittag - ein taiwanesische Essenerlebnis zu haben.

Sometimes simple ingredients, that you can get in every teutonic supermarket are sufficient to feel like in Taiwan.

Manchmal reichen einfache Zutaten, die es in jedem teutonischen Supermarkt gibt, um sich wie in Taiwan zu fühlen.

With salad, eggs, mayonnaise, corn, onions, white bread and thuna in oil it´s very easy to create a formosan breakfast classic. The blogs of countless Taiwanese suffering from the poor food culture in foreign counties describe the exact recipe. Besides, the picture, that I took, shows thuna with vegetable. That´s wrong. Thuna fish with oil is the right choice. The drink the matches this dish perfectly is a big cold coffee with milk and an overload of sugar.

Mit Salat, Eiern, Mayonaise, Mais, Zwiebeln, Toastbrot und Thunfisch ist leicht der formose Frühstücksklassiker herzustellen. Die genaue Rezeptur und Zubereitung findet der dem Chinesischen Kundige in diversen Blogs an schlechter Esskultur leidender Auslandstaiwanesen. „Thunfisch mit Gemüse" war übrigens ein Fehlkauf. Richtigerweise gehört zum Frühstückssandwich nur Thunfisch in Öl. Das passende Getränk dazu ist ein großer, kalter Kaffee mit Milch und unmäßig gesüßt.

The americanized sandwich-breakfast displaced seemingly the classic Chinese breakfast in daily life especially for the younger generation. However, youth hostels and hotels still continue to serve the Chinese version with manto (steamed bread), tofu dishes, vegetable and rice congee, like in the guest house of the Wuling Farm in April 2007:

Das amerikanisierte Sandwich-Frühstück hat wohl das klassische chinesische Frühstück vor allem bei den jüngeren Leuten im Alltag verdrängt. Jugendherbergen und Hotels servieren es aber weiterhin, wie hier im Gästehaus der Wuling Farm im April 2007 mit Manto (gedämofte Brötchen), Tofugerichten, Gemüse und Reisbrei:

The sweet orange-colored stripe in the middle of the picture are called "douzao", „dou zao", "dou4 zao3" or 豆棗, literally translated tofu dates. The product made by soy beans is nowadays diffelt to buy in Taiwan. Even big supermarkets don´t offer it. I found it in a small specialized grocery store.

Die süßlichen, orangefarbenen Streifen in der Bildmitte heißen "douzao", „dou zao", "dou4 zao3" beziehungsweise 豆棗, wörtlich übersetzt Tofudatteln. Das Produkt, hergestellt aus Soja, ist selbst in Taiwan in großen Lebensmittelsupermärkten kaum zu bekommen und nur noch bei kleinen Spezialanbietern zu haben.

Hair extensions - Haarverlängerungen

How proud was my hairdresser when she got few years ago the territorial exclusivity for artificial hair extensions of a specific company – according her opinion the best one in this area. The japanase movie „Ekusute“, that will be shortly released on DVD in Germany, shows that hair extensions can also become a terrific horror.


Luo You discovered the work by the comercials on the Taiwanese tv-channel CTITV, that you can also watch in internet. Here is the music video trailer about the movie:



In the horror movie the vivid hair extensions cause suicids and accidents.

Now we know: Not the pressure to perform, the stress of density and over population, not the risky driving style and the poor road design, that is mainly focused on speedy car traffic and wide lanes, are the reason for the higher suicid rate and number of victims on the roads in some countries. The real cause are dangerous hair extensions.


German: Wie stolz war meine Frisörin vor ein paar Jahren, als sie den Gebietsschutz für künstliche Haarverlängerungen einer bestimmten - der nach ihrer Meinung besten - Herstellerfirma erhielt. Dass Haarverlängerungen auch zum Horror werden können, zeigt der japanische Film „Ekusute“ der in Kürze als DVD in Deutschland erscheinen wird.

Entdeckt hat Luo You das Machwerk in der Werbung des taiwanesischen Fernsehsenders CTITV, der über Internet auch in Deutschland zu sehen ist.

In dem Horrorfilm führen Haarverlängerungen mit Eigenleben zu Selbstmorden und Unfällen. Mehr zum Inhalt...

Nun wissen wir es: Nicht Leistungsdruck oder Stress durch Dichte und Bevölkerung, nicht unangepasste Fahrweise und die rein autoorientierte, überdimensionieter Straßengestaltung führen zu einer vergleichsweise hohen Selbstmordrate und Verkehrsopferzahl in einigen Ländern. Es sind gefährliche Haarverlängerungen.

Theater without Spectators – Theater ohne Zuschauer

Exactly 6 months ago I saw a very strange performance in Kaohsiung: Squeezed in the small space between the entrance of a parking lot, the concrete wall of the coast line, parking scooters and cars a group of professional actors showed their best. However, nobody was really interested in them - except a stray dog and an innocent LuoYou.


The place where it happened was the former British consulate in Kaohsiung, which is situated at an extremely prominent place of the city. The building, that the British erected in 1865, crowns the rock northern at the entrance to one of the biggest container harbours in the world. There is still a splendid view to the whole city. Few years ago the area was renovated and is now a first class destination for a nice dinner and to observe the sunset.


Next to the consulate is a little temple. The performance was related with the sacred place and served religious purposes. In the Christian culture people order and pay for a mass, in Taiwan people donate for a theater play dedicated to their God. 10 or 20 years ago this activity was a big event that gathered a village or quarter of the city. Meanwhile television, internet and pc-games created alternatives and lowered the number of spectators down to zero.

No problem, the professional actors say, first we are playing for God and second we are paid. But somehow it´s a pity that people don´t look at them, because they make so many efforts. So, the only hope is, that God at least still watches them and did not yet turn to the modern media, too. Well, the loudness reaches a level that even superior creatures can´t ignore them. Next to the enormous loud speakers of the street theater and the noisy music of the restaurant a flutist - engaged by the city government - played his instrument with an electronic booster. First I had the idea he is a part of the theater play. But my wife explained that the actors had their own orchestra behind the stage. The city government wanted to raise the cultural level at this place by the sounds of fluid.


Will the car driver notice the high cultural level of this place, while the barrier of the parking lot permantly squawks „Cordially Welcome!"


As a tourist Luo You was very excited what happened on the stage. The play could compete with every Korean, Japanese or Taiwanese soap opera in the local television. But Luo You´s wife was impatient and had the car keys.

Last Sunday came the déjà vu. The German television channel ARD broadcasted a report about the temple of Cao3 Tun2. According their report the town is quite famous for its puppet play. But, the same phenomenon was visible: no spectators, although the best puppet players of Taiwan gave enthusiastically their best and an excellent show! Only God witnessed their achievements. I wonder how the German television got the inspiration for this report.

The journalist of ARD also met a worshipper in the temple that feels a strong connection to God by burping up. Quite interesting! Even my wife never saw this before.

Rice Cooker

Meanwhile in Taiwan Roomba and Scooba wage the robot war, in Germany still rules the technology of the last millennium.

At Luo2 You1´s home the Tatung TAC 20 offers strong resistance against the German leading culture of Solanum Tuberosum:



In 2005 my wife brought the device from Taiwan. When she acquired it in Kaohsiung first the clerk of the household supply store presented her a big choice of excellent high tech rice cookers, well equipped and chip controlled. The wish of my wife to use the item in Germany and therefor the need to run it with 220 voltage shrinked the selection enormous and also the joy of the Taiwanese - my wife and the clerk - about finest and most advanced technology: Only the Tatung TAC 20 seemingly with the design and technique of the 1960s in the lowest corner of the shelves fulfilled those demands.

Anyway the cooker is robust and daily without any problems in use. Thanks to the internet and downlaodable manuals even Luo You could get the knowledge how to use it. „Wo de Tai Tai" (my wife) had the opinion before her last longer stay in Taiwan, that she didn´t need to give me detailled explanations because of it´s simplicity. Besides she supposed I won´t use it too. But, wrong!

The rice cooker is extremely useful for a fast dinner: 2 cups of rice into the inner pot, fill it up with water til the indication, some water according the measuring cup between the inner pot and the outer container of the heater, then switch it on. After 15 to 20 minutes the slackly-flaky rice is ready.

However, recently there was an expert´s dispute about the right use of the rice cooker: Do you have to cover also the inner pot - means double covered - or only the outer container? How much water has to befilled between the inner pot and the outer container? 2 lines of the measuring cup or half cup for two cups of rice?



The extremely old Taiwanese rice culture competes with the German engineer´s spirit. A human, formed by countless salty potatoes during his childhood and few cooking bags of rice, discusses with a person of a country, that nowadays only know computer controlled rice cookers. The design of the 1960 almost extinguished. Besides, in Taiwan only my mother-in-law cooks the rice. But better not to provocate further more ....

The result of the different preparation of rice - "a la Taiwanesa" and "a la Alemán" - is thoroughly comparable. Here with Kung Bao Qi, Broccoli and "Federweißer" (still fermenting young German wine):

Hot Pot

What Wendel´s Bakery represents for some Germans in Taiwan, is Ho´s Supermarket for many Asians in the area of Düsseldorf and Cologne in Germany.

Due to Ho we got a Chinese hot pot as dinner today:

In Taiwan it looks like this:

Seen in Hsi-tzu-wan (西子灣), eaten and never forgotten.

F-U-C-K YOU CHINA

The excitement about „F-U-C-K YOU CHINA" in the Chinese culture area was almost ignored by the German media. My wife, who is still staying in Taiwan, mentioned the news first and called my attention. There was an article in DW-World at July 9, 2007 and also at July 12, 2007 – in Chinese. In de.indymedia.org you could found a report about a demonstration of few Chinese students in front of a chain store of KULT, a German retailer of clothes, at July 12, 2007.

Picture by DW-World. Is this the KULT store at Obernstr. 82 or Sögestr. 46 in Bremen or somewhere else? It´s really time to learn better Chinese.

Some people, mostly Chinese students, protested against the sell of t-shirts with the imprint: „F-U-C-K YOU CHINA, Manufactured in Europa, Produced and designed by Philipp Plein". They felt, this is discriminating and racist. They demanded the responsible persons should apologize and withdraw the shirts.


49.50 Euro was the price of the shirt. According an article in Sueddeutsche Zeitung the retailer gave them back, although he liked to order more. Seemingly the demand was quite good.


Young people in Germany, Chinese as well as other Nationals, became the dogsbodies of China´s foreign policy.


The list of signatures published in a forum - now a broken link - “Against race discrimination - KULT and PLEIN must apologize!!! Please support us.”

Also the popular China-forums in internet are full of protests. The used terms start with the missing understanding and respect for the Chinese culture, xenophobia in Germany and end - as a reaction towards the criticism against the Chinese government - with the allegation of German behavior during the second world war and the holocaust of the European jews. Yes, the bad and ugly Germans came back. The company Philipp Plein International receives 1000 up to 1500 emails per day full of hate and countless phone calls from China and Hong Kong of „Fuck You“ crying people.

Philipp Plein, who received death threats, eg by this - now shut down - webpage at a server of Chemnitz university, is born in Munich, Germany. The company Philipp Plein International is situated in Switzerland. The shirt is manufactured somewhere in Europe, they write. The Text is written in English. Where the cotton comes from is unknown. The young and ambitious company suffers a lot from unauthorized copies of their design. As a kind of copy protection they created the imprint „F-U-C-K YOU CHINA – Manufactured in Europe – Produced and designed by Philipp Plein".

Because of 80 shirts on sale the German and Swiss embassador in Beijing got a reprehension by the Chinese government. Philipp Plein was appointed to the Chinese embassy in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. Although he apologized, the Chinese diplomats demanded furthermore a public annoncements in German and Swiss media. They even ask for a list of his sub-supplier.

Defacement of Christian symbols? If „our“ pope Papst Benedictus gets it, maybe the fuss about Philipp Plein starts again.

The worst about this affair is the wired pseudo-partiotism of the demonstrators and commentators, the self-proclaimed guards of the Nation, that possess the idea to be better than the other, because by chance CHINA is imprint in their passport. Weidade Zhong Guo (= Great China)! There is only one step distance between this kind of thinking to Nazis and religious extremists.

Confucius´ temple in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in december 2004 - According the opinion of some people the teaches of Confucius lead to a firm unity of the individual personality and the country. Who writes „F-U-C-K YOU CHINA", insults all Chinese people.

Nationalistic are the attitudes of the demonstrators: They glorify „China“ as a mythic and superior creature, inaccessible and bare of all criticism. If I write „F-U-C-K YOU BERLIN" or „F-U-C-K YOU SHANGHAI", probably no inhabitant of Berlin or Shanghai will feel touched. But the Nation needs protection, because its endangered, and its more important than individual freedom. Thus even a small imprint on 80 shirts of a small fashion company can became a big problem.

The restriction of individual freedom in favour of a mythic glorified nation is extremely undemocratic and serves only for the particular interests of the small ruling class. This happened already once in German and no normal person wants to see this situation again: Limit a national group “gathered by their blood”, serve for a superior mythic and “natural” organization, that needs protection, discriminate and chase outsiders are their well known methods, that the Nazis used and use in the same way.

The search results in Google: 203.000 times „F-U-C-K YOU CHINA“. The entry in my former German blog for enlightement and liberty at the closed site of de.passado.com reached at least the 3rd place.

At the same time "F-U-C-K YOU CHINA" is not determined. Does the term mean the Peoples Republic of China or the Republik of China on Taiwan? Does it include Tibet or not? CHINA is a state. CHINA can be an culture area. CHINA are not the people. How can "F-U-C-K YOU CHINA" be racism? "F-U-C-K YOU CHINA" can be related with missing basic human right, the fate of the slave workers, with of the massacres at Tiananmen square in June 1989, with permanent war threat against 21.5 million peaceful people in Taiwan. There was fictitious answer of Philipp Plein in the web that disappeared already. Well, he printed "F-U-C-K YOU CHINA", because he and his company were tired of all those unauthorized copied products, that endanger the success of his small company and his own economic existence.

There is no racism, if a European company expresses its aversion against a system that doesn´t respect international agreements - a system and state that creates and doesn´t stop unrivaled conditions of work:



According my opinion the brain washers from kindergarten til university in PRC did a good job. Their cadres arrived and agitate already scrupulously in Germany, that the girls and boy toe the line: „F-U-C-K YOU CHINA".

Too simple calls an author of a webpage whose main enemy is the German imperialism. Only idiots can get those ideas, he writes. He insists there is a German racism and an agitation by popular German newspapers and magazines against China. The „simple“ Chinese students can feel it - and seemingly the „simple“ Chinese diplomats too! Philipp Pleins´s printing „F-U-C-K YOU CHINA“ is the trigger that they lose their patience, writes this authors. According the author it´s absolutely okay that citizens identify 100 % with your country and offend the assumed opponent: country = nation = all citizens. But he refuses to locate this credo close to the neo-nazi´s belief. Who is the idiot? Besides, there is no need of a conspiracy theory if a totalitarian controlled society implemented once successful the nationalistic thinking. It started in China in 1949.

When the memories come back about the incident at Tiananmen Square in 1989, I feel a little bit uneasy how good German salarymen and politicians can deal with the class of dictators that once ordered to slaughter CHINA´s unarmed and peaceful sons and daughters. On the other hand Germany ignores officially the democratic society of Taiwan.


In Taipei, March 2005, probably a member of the "Chinese race" (Could he be an aborigine, hakka, hoklo or vietnamnese?), misleaded by the secessionist Taiwan authorities – in the language of CHINA - has a similar opinion like Philipp Plein: „FUCK YOU CHINA COMMUNIST“.

"Racist" Foreigners protest together with Taiwanese against the anti-secession law of CHINA and hundreds of Chinese missiles directed to their Chinese compatriots in Taiwan

Luo You shows his copy protection to CHINA.