Last night I was having an interesting discussion with someone in which I actually felt my mind expand a little. Conversation is interesting when the person you’re talking to really knows what he or she is talking about and can communicate it clearly.
This doesn’t happen too often.
How many times have I failed to make a [...]
For all of you who live in China and want to share your experiences online like I do — but are finding out that all the best blog services (Blogger, Wordpress, Posterous, etc.) are blocked in China — here’s a great post entitled, “Blogging in China for the Clueless” over at the Beijing Duck blog, [...]
In honor of my recent misspelling of a headline on this blog, here’s a little non-native English speaking country action for all of you Engrish lovers!
Meat patty explode the stomach. At least their being honest!
The rising young Chinese writer, Ning Ma, has posted another English article on her blog, Moment of Being. This time, a reflective movie review of (500) Days of Summer — the uniquely told, convincingly acted, best-dressed, IKEA ad/tale of boy meets girl of the year.
Here’s an excerpt from Moment of Being:
“They are together. One is [...]
A buddy of mine, Luis Tapia, has produced the first part of a documentary about the “Human Flesh Search Engine” (人肉搜索) phenomenon, in which Chinese netizens collectively scour the Internet for clues to determine someone’s real identity — for better or for worse. I’ve heard talking heads link the human flesh search engine to [...]
Songs are a powerful vehicle for the mind. They are capable of transporting us across great expanses of space and time.
Recently, I’ve been populating my playlist with relics from the 90’s Seattle grunge scene. Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains … these bands were at their biggest when I was in junior high, so how [...]
It’s (finally) spring in Beijing. China’s cold northern capital can really warm up under the right conditions — those being a warm front, cherry blossoms and a three-day weekend. Here’s some eye candy and a short prose by a real writer, Ning, that captures the moment.
The beauty of cherry blossoms is not on the branches; [...]
I recently ran across an odd new snack in my friendly neighborhood 7-Eleven (the friendly neighborhood being Beijing, China, that is). This isn’t an English mistake — the Chinese packaging is clearly branded “boke pingdao” (Blog Channel). From what I can tell they are cracker jacks or corn nuts or something nuts. Approx. US$3.30 a [...]
