uni-qlo, arguably my favorite japanese brand/store(muji's good too), has opened up shop in mountain city.  and though uni-qlo, which is short for unique-clothes, may not exactly be offering as the name would apply(this season is a bit too 'gapie"), they do offer a variety of simple, attractive, and affordable styles.  although, what is a bargain in the u.s. and japan seems a bit steep out here. 
next time you're in need of some attire that is not only descent looking, but might actually fit, head out to paradise walk @ guan yin qiao in jiangbei, and see what the xiǎo rìběn have to offer.

while on the subject of clothing, i'd like to take the oppurtunity to share with you some apparel inspired music.  the beijing band Xin Kuzi, which translates to 'new pants,' and their song "bye bye disco."  and a song i've been listening to non-stop recently, Animal Collective's "summertime clothes," and the recently released remix of the same song.

Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes[dwnld]
Animal Collective - Summertime Clothes(Dam-Funk rmx)[dwnld]
Xin Kuzi - Bye Bye Disco[dwnld]

as i mentioned in my previous post, chonging can get damn hot come the summer-time.  and with humidity to match the heat, often time you find yourself looking for a way to avoid becoming the world's largest jiaozi, that doesn't involve speanding the entirety of the day in -front of the AC.  fear not friends! we have the solution, or shall i say solutions, for you. 
all summer long we'll be giving you tips on how to "beat the cq heat." and first on the list(with the exception, of course, of our friend mentioned below) comes to you all the way from the usa.  yes, cq now has a dairy queen(aka DQ).  and though it lacks the burgers, fries, etc., found in the DQ you may be used to from home, it does have quite the offering of frozen treats, the highlight of which being the blizzard(oreo w/ banana in my case).  to get there just hop on the light-rail to yang jia ping, or take a cab or bus(i take the 402 from shapingba) to yang jia ping bu xin jie(aka"fu an bai huo")  and go into the "grand ocean" department store building right next to the station.  your escape to ice-cold extacy awaits you in the bottom floor.  though not hard to find by merely keeping your eyes open, a simple "DQ zai n'ar?" asked to any of the workers ought to get you there.

p.s. anyone trying to do the opposite and heat things up, might want to check out whats going down at cici park this weekend.  they'll be hosting 2 parties, friday being a latin party, and saturday's party, "german bold," will feature 2 german djs playing drum&bass, dubstep, and electro.