The Chinese government is shutting down a major Beijing nightlife area in advance of the 2008 Olympics over security concerns. China Daily has the story:
Restaurants, bars and nightclubs in one of Beijing main nightlife centers and celebrity hangouts are to be closed to help ensure security at an Olympic football venue, said authorities.
“About six restaurants […]

[Read more →]

Here’s a nice piece written by a Korean sportswriter from the Sports Chosun who’s in Taiwan covering the Korean National Team’s preparations for the Olympic Qualifiers. Basically, he’s out looking for a story and ends up musing on the popularity of Wang Chien-ming relative to his own experiences watching the career of Park Chan-ho in Korea.
In the […]

[Read more →]

Occasional East Windup scribe (well, twice) David Chalk has a funny new series going at Bugs and Cranks where he previews every MLB team as they compare to his (he calls them “our”) Devil Rays. The series is called “Your Team Ain’t S#!T Compared to the Devil Rays.”
Here’s a highlight from his recent comparison of […]

[Read more →]

Brace youself. The first time I saw this I thought it was annoying, but once I got my mind around what this guy is trying to do I thought it was pretty clever.
This is Mr. Tyfoon, a Korean rapper doing a commerical for Pizza Etang. As far as Korean pizza goes Etang is one of the less-offensive […]

[Read more →]

I’d meant to post this when it was more current, but it got lost in the vacation shuffle. Sorry Ted.
‘Moneyball’ leading man apparently retires at 28

Soundtrack: Beach House “Gila”
(open in another window to play via Quicktime)

[Read more →]

It was a busy day for Korean franchise No. 8, aka Centennial, aka Our Heroes, as it made quite possibly it’s first step in the right direction — revealing a sharp logo and uniform in a lavish 11 a.m. ceremony Thursday.
On a personal note I’ve been considering which KBO team hat I’d like to buy […]

[Read more →]

Rangers closer CJ Wilson has gotten into some doo-doo with his teammates over comments he said in this ESPN article, most of which concern the political views of baseball players.
“It’s frustrating,” says C.J. Wilson, the 27-year-old Texas relief pitcher. “I’d say there are two reasons. One, there’s a general lack of education among us. But […]

[Read more →]

Hey! Milddle-aged woman!

21-year-old Ryu Hyun-jin of the Hanwha Eagles stands in the dugout during a practice with the Korean National Team in Taiwan. With Daniel Rios out of the league, Ryu is unquestionably the KBO’s best pitcher going into 2008.

[Read more →]

The Japanese porn industry often walks a fine line between regular funlovin’ erotica featuring young ladies and outright child pornography, but during the past couple months authorities have moved to make the distinction clearer. Asian Sex Gazette has a report here.
Fans and producers of a lucrative fad called “lolicon” got a wake up call with […]

[Read more →]

 
As this guy gets closer to the majors there’s more written about his unique situation. Here’s a piece by the New York Times concerning R.A. Dickey, who recently came to the Mariners via Rule 5. His story is incredible.
Instead, Dickey slipped on his Seattle Mariners uniform Monday, stepped on a bullpen pitcher’s mound and made […]

[Read more →]

Every baseball season I have a mental list of things I’d like to see happen. Naturally, being a Reds fan the team’s success is at the top of my list. Since that has only happened during in my lifestory I have to find other things to root for. Sadly, these concern my fantasy baseball […]

[Read more →]

When I first came to Korea I met a guy named Kyeong-ho. He told me two stories I will never forget.
The first involved his military service. For six months he had to destroy hundreds of pigs every day in a government effort to control an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in South Korea. He […]

[Read more →]

 
Just for fun and before you read the answer below, guess how much the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox players will each receive from Major League Baseball for their season-opening series in Japan this March?
I don’t spend much time thinking about player salaries and the financial aspects of the game, but for some reason […]

[Read more →]

Having just flown over the good ol’ Sea of Okhotsk two days ago I couldn’t help but be curious about these amazing cloud formations (called cloud streets) on Pink Tentacle.
This photograph (above), taken June 18 from a Japan Coast Guard aircraft off the northeastern coast of Hokkaido, shows a bird’s-eye view of cloud streets over […]

[Read more →]

Cheap home runs. Balls that just barely go over the wall. Makes sense doesn’t it? The Hardball Times, using data from Greg Rybarczyk’s Hit Tracker — a site that tracks every homer hit — has an article concerning long balls, theorizing that the information might just shed some light on homers for the 2008 season.
Here’s […]

[Read more →]

 
I’m back in Korea now if anyone cares. The most surprising thing I saw during my trip to America? The fact that Billy Ray Cyrus’s daughter is currently bigger than Jesus.
Another surprising thing is that this Bonds to Japan talk has persisted. Most recently the Rays have been linked to Bonds, and while that idea […]

[Read more →]

The best part of this story is what he tried to do once he was spotted.

[Read more →]

People are under the impression that it’s impossible to go to North Korea, but even for Americans, there are ways. The New York Times has a small travel piece that includes the details on going.
The tricky part is the price.

[Read more →]

 
Good fun here from the Asia Times — a review of a North Korean karaoke bar in Beijing, written by a South Korean. Check out how the writer absolutely falls for the ladies.
The room looks like a typical karaoke room. There are comfy cushions with a table in the center. On the one side of […]

[Read more →]

East Windup Chronicle friend and occasional illustrator Ted, has his own blog — called Rosterized, for which he rolls out teams of various shapes, sizes and themes, always complimented by his illustrations, essays, and even the occasional podcast.
Currently he’s working on “Team #2,” which concerns baseball movies. Starting at 1B is none other than […]

[Read more →]