'Furious 7' Box Office Success Banks on US Diversity

0 Replies

New box office formula: fewer gringo actors = more moviegoers. I am not much of a follower of the US film industry, but this story caught m... Continue reading →

Sands' Sheldon Anderson 1, Online Gambling Stateside 0

0 Replies

The US nanny state and a casino mogul combine to frustrate online gambling Stateside. For a long time, I have covered attempts to regulate I... Continue reading →

Political Barriers for Game Console Makers in China

0 Replies

A game console bonanza in China? Not yet so far. The irony for video game console makers in China is that while some components are made the... Continue reading →

Cuba Stories: Venezuelan Oil, Buena Vista Social Club

0 Replies

Some Buena Vista Music Club musicians are gone but not forgotten. I actually watched Obama's announcement that the United States has en... Continue reading →

And Now for Hugo Chavez, the Ballet

0 Replies

Wasn't the real Hugo Chavez a homely, pudgy bloke? For those with a taste for entertainment with a political bent, there is no shortage:... Continue reading →

Dr. Dre's $70M USC Innovation School, Gangstas & Race

0 Replies

Dig USC President Max Nikias trying to get down with Dre. This is an interesting idea for innovation in higher education: is gangsta rap imp... Continue reading →

Watch Out, Evita: Imelda Marcos, the Musical

0 Replies

Sometimes 2000 shoes just ain't enough. David Byrne should be familiar to 80s music fans as the Talking Heads frontman of " Burning... Continue reading →

The Only Part of Disney Losing Money - Euro Disney

0 Replies

Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters , sons of bankers, sons of lawyers. I visited Euro Disney in 1994, two years after it opened. After informing our... Continue reading →

Jeff Koons & Hokum as America's Defining Characteristic

0 Replies

To understand America, explain why "Orange Balloon Dog" is worth $58.4 million . At best, Americanism is a good-natured kind of hu... Continue reading →

Singapore and the Demoncracy [sic] of Political Freedom

0 Replies

Ah, independent Singapore: a Lee-controlled city-state with a brief Goh Chok Tong intermission. I call it the "Medvedevian Interlude.... Continue reading →

Shakira, the Yoko Ono of Spanish Football

0 Replies

Shakira killed Gerard Pique and Spain's double fantasy for a World Cup repeat. [ Apologies for this post not concerning IPE all that mu... Continue reading →

Bet on Asia? How Macau Stomps Puny Las Vegas

0 Replies

I did not fully appreciate how well and truly Las Vegas has been eclipsed by Macau. 2006 was the year Macau overtook Las Vegas in gambling r... Continue reading →

Secrets of Orlando's 'Harry Potter' Theme Park Success

0 Replies

You needn't be a movie star to enjoy Butterbeer,; just head to Orlando FL Here's another example of the fallibility of what you read... Continue reading →

Conflict Minerals: Which Game Console is Most Violent?

0 Replies

With the holiday season upon us and one semi-new (Nintendo) and two completely new (Microsoft and Sony) video game consoles on the market, c... Continue reading →

PRC TV Drama Viewership: The Int'l Pecking Order

0 Replies

Popular culture has a way of reflecting preferences and biases, especially when taken from an international perspective. Commercial implicat... Continue reading →

Geopolitics of Eurovision: Echoes of Yugoslavia

0 Replies

Formerly known as the Cold War Studies programme, LSE IDEAS has always been focused on post-1989 events in that part of Europe. As out found... Continue reading →