Whole-body MRI scans have been around for more than a decade but it is only lately that they have started taking over social media feeds.In a promotional post on Instagram last year, Kim Kardashian wrote about her experience of being scanned by what she called a “life saving machine.” “It has really
In the tourism desert that is most of Changhua County, at least one place stands out as a remarkable exception: one of Taiwan’s earliest Han Chinese settlements, Lukang. Packed with temples and restored buildings showcasing different eras in Taiwan’s settlement history, the downtown area is best exp
In 1973, Donald Trump was a hungry, awkward real estate heir from Queens looking for respect in New York. Not particularly smart, not particularly charming and with no solid plan to combat a federal lawsuit over the family company’s discrimination against Black tenants, the young Trump was fumbling
Decades before he hosted The Apprentice, Donald Trump was … an apprentice.His mentor: Roy Cohn, the ruthless attorney who was a prominent New York power broker in the ’70s and ’80s after famously serving as a top aide to Senator Joseph McCarthy.The Trump-Cohn connection is well known. But in The App
On 13 March 2020 a cruise ship called the Braemar was denied entry to the Bahamas after a number of its passengers tested positive for COVID. Forced to travel around the Caribbean, it was finally accepted by Cuba, from where those on board were evacuated to the UK.The Braemar was just one of a numbe
If blowing out the candles on your 100th birthday cake is a pillar of your retirement plan, you might want to skip to the next article.An analysis of death data from the world’s longest-lived populations reveals that the rapid improvements in life expectancy achieved in the 20th century have slowed
Though some now point to a new rivalry between China and the US in southeast Asia, there are no easy equivalences to the Cold War, when the region’s governments were forced to declare for one side or the other. While Beijing has actively propped up several of the region’s dictators and junta regimes
A record number of climbers are gathered in Tibet to complete mountaineering’s pinnacle achievement, summiting the world’s tallest 14 peaks.Only about 50 climbers have climbed all mountain peaks above 8,000 meters, a feat that took most years, or even decades, to complete.About 20 are vying for the
Taiwan’s cities are a good bit cleaner than they used to be, but — as I discussed in my Sept. 25 column (“Is a cleaner countryside in Taiwan possible?”) — the same can’t be said for rural areas.Litter that ends up where it shouldn’t is, at best, an eyesore. In many cases, it’s liable to impact wildl
Japan is celebrated for its exceptional levels of customer service. But the behavior of a growing number of customers and clients leaves a lot to be desired.The rise of the abusive consumer has prompted authorities in Tokyo to introduce the country’s first ordinance — a locally approved regulation —
From a Brooklyn studio that looks like a cross between a ransacked Toys R Us and a serial killer’s lair, the artist David Henry Nobody Jr is planning the first survey of his career. Held by a headless dummy strung by its heels from the ceiling are a set of photographs from the turn of the century of
There’s an old saying that the perfect walk has “something to see, somewhere to pee, and somewhere to get a cup of tea.” While those things do indeed make for a respectable hike, scientists have discovered that aspects of nature will turn a good walk into a great one, in intriguing ways.Over recent
Two years ago my wife and I went to Orchid Island off Taitung for a few days vacation. We were shocked to realize that for what it cost us, we could have done a bike vacation in Borneo for a week or two, or taken another trip to the Philippines. Indeed, most of the places we could have gone for that
Oct. 7 to Oct. 13The Great Dragon Flags were so lavish and intricate that it’s said to have exhausted the supplies of three embroidery shops. Others say that the material cost was so high that three shops quit during production and it was finished by a fourth. Using threads with pure gold, the fin
Taiwan, once relegated to the backwaters of international news media and viewed as a subset topic of “greater China,” is now a hot topic. Words associated with Taiwan include “invasion,” “contingency” and, on the more cheerful side, “semiconductors” and “tourism.”It is worth noting that while Taiwan
The sprawling port city of Kaohsiung seldom wins plaudits for its beauty or architectural history. That said, like any other metropolis of its size, it does have a number of strange or striking buildings. This article describes a few such curiosities, all but one of which I stumbled across by accide
A new Henri Matisse retrospective in Switzerland offers visitors a rare chance to follow his artistic journey via works from throughout the career of one of modern art’s godfathers.The Fondation Beyeler museum on the outskirts of Basel has brought together 72 works by the French artist, who died in
The female body is a horror movie waiting to happen. From puberty and the grisly onset of menstruation, in pictures such as Brian De Palma’s Carrie and John Fawcett’s Ginger Snaps, to pregnancy and childbirth — Rosemary’s Baby is the obvious example — women have provided a rich seam of inspiration f
One of Taiwan’s best food adventures can be found at its ubiquitous rechao (熱炒), or stir-fry joints. Greasy food swinging round the lazy Susan, booze flowing in tiny glasses, cigarette plumes wafting. Once, I downed whiskey shots with a drunken proprietor. Another time I shared a toilet stall with t
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