My Taiwanese obsession continues

....through tying together disparate things that have influenced me....  Ching He Huang, who I discovered via her cookbooks, and Eddie Huang, who I discovered primarily through Huang's World on Viceland, and also Chthonic, the politically charged Taiwanese metal band.

I'm not sure if there's a big Taiwanese metal scene, but I'll have to look it up.  It seems like the international bands that I love are pretty isolated geographically - Sepultura/Max Cavalera from Brazil, Behemoth/Nergal from Poland, unlike some other areas where there are huge scenes, from Swedish Melodic Death Metal, Norwegian Black Metal, Northeastern U.S. Metalcore, or Bay Area Thrash.  I'm guessing Chthonic falls squarely in the former camp.

Reading (actually listening) to the Dalai Lama talk about Chinese annexation of Tibet, and President Trump taking a phone call from the president of Taiwan being a breach in protocol, in addition to the recent news of territorial control of certain islands near China, make me reflect on China's influence and geographical / political domination.  I think it's important that bands like Chthonic write about historical events and take a political stance.

On a completely lighter note, I had Taiwanese beef noodle soup for lunch yesterday!  Food is unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) the easiest way to experience other cultures, short of traveling.