MRT Blog
Now that I’m in Taiwan, I guess I should remove my listing from the NYC Bloggers subway map. Too bad I’m not living in Taipei, then I could be on the MRT Blog:
Unfortunately, it turns out that the MRT blog isn’t a blog at all, but rather a housing development.
Nor is it the only housing development to cash-in on the blogging craze:
While it is easy to make fun of the housing developers for failing to register the domain name they use in their ads, to do so would be like pointing out that Taiwanese have misspellings on their English language T-shirts. The purpose of the URL is for decoration, not information.
Years ago I used to get bubble tea at a stand which had a URL (something like “pearlmilktea.com.tw”) on its banner. I foolishly tried to look at their web site, only to quickly realize my mistake. One can see the trend on Taiwan’s scooters. Where they used to say things like: “We reach for the sky, neither does civilization,” now they are likely to simply have a URL. The cryptic nature of URLs means that you don’t need to worry about your English spelling or grammar, while still conveying the same sense of cosmopolitan modernity.
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Comments
I completely agree with you about how these convey a sense of cosmopolitan modernity. Your mention of the scooter mottos reminded me that I kept a notebook with these mottos during my visit to Taiwan in 2001. Why not share it with the world? Here’s the full list of what I saw (‘sic’ applies to all):
Dream 100: All I Have Giving You the Best FunctionJog 50: Friendliest Scooter on Earth
Dio 5P: The Best Sensation
Jog: Is Fascinating to You
Cabin: With Fashionable Feeling
Cabin 90: The Sparkling Scooter
Fuzzy 125: Urban Trend
San Yang 125: Giving You the Best Function & Sensation All I Have
Yup 90: Just For You & Me
Duke 125-SP: The Best Racer You Are From Now On
Fuzzy FR 125: The Scooter of Wind Called
Freeway 125:
specializing in noble
model street bike for
noble life…
Dio: Fast and First and Best: Driving You the Best Function & Sensation All I Have
Dio SP: Shuttle in the City Jengle, the New, Speedy Snail Clan
Suke 1255P: The Modern Scooter Citizen
Sapia 50: My Perfect Partner
Fever: You Got to Feel the Happiness of Riding
Freeway 125D: 1993 is the International Year of Kimco
MAN/boy 50: Enjoy Yourself
Sanyang Difa: New Urbane Rider
Kymco: The Epochal Scooter, Heroism
Jet 50: For New Century
Sapia RS: Sporty Elegance
Freeway 125: Get Away From it All, Get Away With it All
Hondai: HO MEE! Super Sports Sutomobil
Heroism 125, Powerful Scooter: The International Scooter from Kymco
Charming 100 Super Edition
Up 100: It’s New. It’s Only. It’s Now.
CT505: For Your Nice Scene
Attile 125 SR: For New Generation
Zap 50: More Freedom from KYMCO, More Fun from Zap
Yamaha: Aerodynamics Zone, Special Edition
Movies: The Space of Character
Kuanmei: Enjoy the Lovely Satisfaction on the Road
MAN BOY 90: Close to Nature
Honda SS90: Feel Big
Y.E.S.S.: Yamaha Enjoy Sports System
Yamaha Sparkling Scooter: Enjoy the Lovely Satisfaction of the Road
Boat 90: Make a Boat, Be Your Dream
Sniper 50: We Reach for the Sky, Neither Does Civilization
Sniper 50: Just for Wind Cutting
Yamaha 135: Elementalism
Rudy FX 125: The World Hi Tech Scooter For You
Cabin 2: Welcome to Cabin 2 Scooter, It’s A Scooter With European Styling and Dynamic Movements
Freeway 125C: Let the Good Time Roll By
Yamaha RZX: For Your Simple & Tasty Life
Refined 50: The Experience Your Seek
Honda Movie: New Concept By My Own
Freeway 125: Enjoy the Riding of Comfort
Lifa 125: The More You Look, The More You Like
Joy: The Scooter that Brings Style to Life
Winner: Status. Stylish. Sporty
Taking 50: The Best Function and Good Sensation
[...] Although he has harbored high hopes for citizen journalism and punditry, AsiaPundit is joining the multitude of voices who are saying that the blogging phenomena is dead. Now that the term has been seized upon by Taiwan property developers, it is essential to find a new name for the medium. Technorati Tags: asia, northeast asia, east asia, taiwan [...]
Great minds think alike. I have to admit, I tried going to that exact same website (pearlmilktea.com.tw) when I was in Taiwan. I think it was on the signage of a bubble tea stand near Tai Da.
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An anthropologist and documentary filmmaker, 
Although he has harbored high hopes for citizen journalism and punditry, AsiaPundit is joining the multitude of voices who are saying that the blogging phenomena is dead. Now that the term has been seized upon by Taiwan property developers,it is essential to find a new name for the medium