Call of Duty, the current king of video games, has just shown the next iteration in the series: Modern Warfare 3.  It also has been announced that Call of Duty would soon make its official debut in China with subscription plans estimated to earn $100m in its first year.

China already loves Call of Duty, and here is proof.  This Taobao shop creates replicas of Call of Duty’s ‘Task Force 141′ tactical jacket, as popularized by the character named Ghost.  Very similar to the way that the Bruce Lee’s megashop creates homage clothing.  These Modern Warfare fans have recreated Ghost’s outfit with a wide variety of sizes and options. Cotton-or down-filled, in a variety of sizes, or even custom made. Because when you zipline into a terrorist-filled oil rig, you can’t risk getting snared up.

Every task force should have one hot chick.

A while back I announced that I was going to start using exclusively tactical products.  If you tour my apartment, which is in the upper deck of a Russian submarine, you will find tactical dining tables (made to kick over in case of gunfights) , tactical dinnerware (throwing knives only),  and tactical Snoopy throw pillows (love Snoopy!).  Of course, I don’t invite many guests.

How do you know if something is tactical or not? Having patches is a good clue.

Custom Call of Duty-inspired tactical jackets are a special treat only afforded to us by the magic of Taobao. Enjoy it!

Wait until Dino Beach sees me in this!

Being a season pass holder to Shanghai’s Dino Beach 热带风暴 water park, I am in my bathing suit all summer long. And long ago I shed my baggy American board shorts in favor of the Chinese Speedo. I mean, I don’t want to look uptight in front of everybody.

Problem is, certain areas of my body seem… uptight in my Speedo. Save your cold water jokes. This is no laughing matter.

Ask for the cup size you’d like to be

Are you an expat in China who still wears your baggy board shorts to go swimming? You might as well wear a T-shirt while you are at it, Mr. Shy!

Shed your old fashion habits and embrace the modern Chinese swimsuit. Just be sure to give yourself this secret advantage.

Buy it on Taobao, the judgement free zone.

On April 14, China Unicom shifted its iPhone plans eliminating their most popular free-iPhone-with-contract plan and adding a super discount plan. They also started selling iPhones without a contract: 4,999rmb for a 16GB phone. Analysis in Chinese

I was planning choosing Unicom’s popular free-iPhone plan, but after they closed that option I was left reconsidering my options. Thankfully, iPhone prices on Taobao began sinking. You can now find the 16GB iPhone 4 for about 4200rmb to 4400rmb. All without a contract commitment.

I ended up choosing Feichang Shouji 非常手机 for an unlocked Hong Kong iPhone and paid 4420. These guys have many shops around China and I hear that they offer excellent service if you need your firmware scrubbed or your settings tweaked.

In light of today’s China Unicom offerings, does it still make sense to buy an unlocked iPhone?

iPhone from Feichang – 4430rmb
All iPhones – various prices

Urban Ninjas Only

If you are a master Ninja-About-Town, you will want to equip one of these in your adventure kit.  Stainless steel construction ensures that you could use it as a throwing weapon, if need be.

Not only does it let you know where you are going, but it can also double as an emergency mirror for peeking around corners.

Available for major Chinese cities

If you live in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing or Hong Kong, you need to pick one of these up for your wallet or risk the danger of being caught lost.

Last year’s fashion was to have multiple credit cards prominently displayed in the wallet. This year, it will be the stainless steel subway map. Stay ahead of the game and order yours today.

Steel Pocket Subway Maps of Chinese Cities ~70rmb

GTD comes to China

A long while back we reported on the cool dude who started his own Taobao business importing Moleskine notebooks and created the Chinese-language web community to evangelize the Moleskine lifestyle. Those still make a great gift.

But if your new years agenda includes the resolutions to be more productive and more frugal, this cool new Taobao shop might be more of what you’re looking for.

GTD001.taobao.com is a Taobao shop that is near and dear to my heart. Not only did they create their own line of crazy-cheap notebooks, they give intensive instruction to teach productivity noobs how to step correct

Apparently this guy also likes the Palm 650 – which we also covered long ago, and is still an excellent choice for a super-cheap smartphone.  He also offers cool little GTD decision charts.

Get yourself organized! Make some lists! Get Things Done!

GTD Brand Notebooks – from 16rmb

An Apron of Authority

The number one most important thing about hosting a BBQ is letting everyone know that you are top-dog. To do that, you gotta have an apron. An apron screams “I am the barbeque man, and command respect.”

Your apron should be manly, but shouldn’t take itself too seriously. Like this checkedout brand cookwear.  I’ve Got Crabs Apron – 38rmb

Here is another strong choice. It is in German, and has a beer on it, which conveys all the right messages. Beer is Mien Friend Apron – 28rmb

Don’t pass up on the chef’s hat. It’s only 13rmb.

Make sure your guests know who to go to for meat and who to go to for a freshenup on their mojito. Mojito Lime Apron- 35rmb

If you wanna go for that Screwball Uncle look. That’s good, because that stuff is even cheaper.  Homer Simpson Apron – 15rmb

If you wanna be the Creepy Uncle, aprons are the canvas on which to paint your crazy.  Spencer Gifts Apron – 20rmb … and it only goes downhill from there.

As you put the finishing touches on your big preparations, there is one thing that you should not forget – proper fashion. Because while your guests may remember the meat flavor all week, they will remember that you looked so damn good flippin’ those burgers for much longer.

Just look at that texture. Splendid! These woodgrain glasses come from Japan and look awesome. They are actually made out of plastic – I think wood would be far too fragile. But these are definately on my style short-list.

Heck yah, you can! It’s easy. Just pick your frames. Then pick out the lenses – they usually have a wide range of choices from basic glass to ultra-thin UV-coated polymers. Tell them your perscription and you’re done.

At this price, you can pick up a pair just to keep around as a spare. Or if you have a specific frame in mind, search up the model number to compare prices. (You can usually find the model number on the frames near the ear.) 

Sagawafuji glasses – 160 to 190rmb

Sagawafuji - 佐川藤井

Style points

I pick up a GQ magazine once a year, and they thoroughly convince me that my life will be incomplete until I buy a wooden ’shoe tree’ to preserve the shape of my shoes. But once I think about it for a minute, I decide that the any added style points from my well-shaped shoes would immediately be negated by the fact that I possess such things as a ’shoe tree.’

These little guys, on the other hand, are extremely functional and cool. If you have curly collars, or even if you don’t, these collar stays would be an excellent purchase. 

Men’s accessories, especially secret metal accessories, can be very satisfying things. Get yourself some metal and people will know that you mean serious business. At the very least, you will know that you mean serious business. Collar Stays – 60rmb

Collar Stays – 袖钉衬