Hot Links: Fight Clubs, Fake Pop Stars and Shopping for “Software”

Global Times: Fight clubs - nightclub layouts reflect culture gaps
The Global Times cites “cultural differences” as the main reason why fights between locals and foreigners have been flaring up around Sanlitun lately:
“Chinese men want to cut loose and have fun while showing off to the women they have brought with them, explaining the outrageously overpriced fruit plates, and the ostentatious habit of mixing expensive whiskey with sickly sweet green tea that overpowers the flavors. Inviting someone into the group to join the fun is one thing. But if some unwelcome outsider starts rubbing up against your girl on the dance floor as you are playing dice to pass the awkward silences, it can be viewed as intrusive and a loss of face. It's also an opportunity to gain face by showing the aggressive and horny foreign devils who is boss.”

See Also: Facebook founder visits with Baidu CEO in Beijing

And speaking of The Zuck in Beijing, there's this from the WSJ China Realtime Report: Facebook gets back in China (sort of):
"The contrast between Facebook’s spreading global network of users and its effective absence from China is starkly illustrated by a map, produced by a Facebook intern and flagged on the Economist’s website earlier this month, that has lately become a point of fascination of the Chinese Internet. Described by its creator Paul Butler as “a social graph of 500 million people,” the map represents the worldwide volume of Facebook friendships across geographic locations using lines of varying intensity. Butler’s methodology is interesting in its own right, but what appeared to most interest China’s netizens was how China appears on the map. Or, rather, how it doesn’t." Link to The Economist map here

China Music Radar: Who the hell is Ayi Jihu?
China Music Radar wonders if a purported Chinese R&B sensation is merely a PR hoax:
“Our researchers conclusion: It seems that she is only famous for her sexy image on stage? and all of her videos on Chinese video websites are uploaded by her PR company.
Our conclusion: a cynical attempt by a PR company and record executives to try and fool the Western market into believing that this feel good story is actually a true one (and in the process make lots of money out of it). Watch the BBC video and it seems that she is pretty complicit in the scam.”

China Media Project: What were China’s top stories in 2010?
With a list of candidates for the “Top Ten Domestic Stories of the Year,” an online survey feature released over the weekend and shared on most major news portals, People’s Daily Online packaged a politically tidy version of China’s headlines in 2010.

China Daily: Beijing's most bizarre home deliveries
The China Daily rounds up some of the city’s more offbeat delivery services, including pole dancing lessons, a bagpiper and a rent-a-friend service.

CNNGo via micgadget.com: How to Buy Unlicensed Copies of Top-Selling Softwares in Beijing
“Since the majority of Chinese computer users run unauthorized copies of softwares, it’s super-easy to find a store clerk willing to sell unlicensed copies of top-selling softwares in China electronic malls. So, CNN’s Eunice Yoon visits some stores in Beijing, to see how hard it is to find counterfeit software on stores shelves.”