IKEA and China: A Scary Mix

I've been reading some articles recently about Ikea opening some new stores in China. The pictures are coming in of massive crowds both inside and outside the store (see pic above.) This doesn't surprise me at all. I remember the crowd of 20,000 people who showed up at a Costco store opening in Taichung, Taiwan. (you can read my blog entry here: http://kenberglund.blogspot.com/2008/04/costco-opens-in-taichungand-all-hell.html

It seems the Chinese aren't actually buying anything at Ikea, but instead just going there to sleep in the beds (and put their children in cribs to have naps). I mentioned this story to my wife, who replied "What?? I would never sleep in those beds. It's so dirty. You don't know how many different people have been lying in them."

Those are my feelings exactly, and the Chinese never cease to amaze me with their bizarre behavior. Whether it's going completely homicidal apeshit over 10 free eggs at Costco, urinating in public at the Hong Kong Disneyland, or sleeping in beds at furniture stores.

"When we go to Ikea, it feels like we're abroad." said one Chinese shopper at Ikea.

I still don't really understand this total adulation that China and Taiwan have over western culture. Is it the movies and television that have done this to them? Have they watched too many episodes of "Friends" that they think this is what America really is? Is it all the Meg Ryan and Sandra Bullock movies?

It's kind of sad to see so much western influence in Asia these days. There was even talk about opening a Starbucks or a McDonalds in the Forbidden City. I'm not sure whether that happened or not, but that's just wrong. Our culture isn't one the Chinese should try to emulate.

I'll probably go back to Taiwan next year, and the last thing I want to see is Taiwan turn into another America. I like all the temples and Buddha statues and duck head stands. If those are gone and replaced with more McDonalds and Costcos and Ikeas, I will be very disappointed.

A Brush With Fame....Or Not

Here's a bit of fluff to lighten things up after the last couple of sad, serious weeks:

I rented the movie "Paranormal Activity" from the library this past weekend and you can see my name in the credits at the end. I knew my name was there, but had no desire to either buy the movie or pay to rent it. Not that it's a bad movie. It's okay, and marginally scary at times, but after you've seen it once, it's not really effective anymore. Similar to "The Blair Witch Project," with each subsequent viewing, it loses its impact.

So why is my name in the credits? Because I was one of those people who clicked the "Demand It!" button when this movie first came out. I wanted to see it, and it seemed like the only way to see it is you "demanded it" on the official website. So, I demanded it, entered my name, and boom! Now I'm in the ending credits.

Apparently, thousands of other people are in the credits too, so the names go rushing by at a speed that make it impossible to read. Seriously, if you blink for a millisecond, you will miss my name. I had to pause it several times just to find it.

So anyway, here's the video: