The SOHO complexes around Beijing have always been one of the things I hate about this city most. Gray, modern and ugly, the sprawling developments are a blight on the city’s skyline. Everything about them screams “mistake.” How bad are they? Try finding the right building in Jianwai SOHO. Is it building 16 or 9 [...]
Continue reading “Time to “Chai” SOHO” »
There is a tendency for people to try to bridge the culture difference between the West and China by calling things “the Chinese X.” Like, people can’t just say “he’s one of China’s great writer.” Instead, the preferred way of explaining this notion is, “He’s the Chinese Shakespeare.” Of course, I assume that they mean [...]
Continue reading “Spring Festival IS Like Christmas!!” »
Think back to the Democratic primary. Remeber what the knock on Obama always was? He’s naive. He’s too idealistic. He’s too liberal. He’s just not tough enough.
Just in case you didn’t get it during the campaign–when he decided to privately finance and blew McCain out of the water–Obama is tough, and hardly naive. A friend [...]
Continue reading “Bambi in the White House” »
When I heard that the new Guns N’ Roses album is entitled Chinese Democracy, it got me wondering what, exactly, the point to the title was. Now, I think we should start with the premise that these fellows aren’t very deep thinkers. I’m not trying to hate on Slash or Axl Rose, but they did [...]
Continue reading “What’s up with Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy”?” »
Not to gloss over the remarkable achievement of America electing its first Black president, but the heavy focus we have seen misses the point of this election entirely. Barack Obama is set to lead this country out of one of the worst periods in its history. And he will do so slowly and steadily, with [...]
Continue reading “Policy, Not Race, Could Make Obama Great” »
Since February I have been predicting a Democratic blow out. However, I am a Democrat. And a Mets fan. And a Jets fan. Let’s just say optimism isn’t my thing. So as we approach the moment of reckoning, I’m confident–but totally scared shitless. One similarly-minded friend of mine got mad at me because I kept [...]
Continue reading “Cup of Election Predictions” »
Over the last several weeks I’ve gotten pretty into AMC’s show Mad Men. It’s all about the men (and women) of an advertising firm on New York’s Madison Avenue in 1959. The amazing thing about the show is how much its portrayal of late 1950s New York reminds me of modern China. Specifically, the provinces [...]
Continue reading “The Mad Men of China” »
Just before the four-minute mark is one of the weirdest exchanges I’ve ever seen. You can’t make this stuff up.
Continue reading “Bill Kristol on the Daily Show” »
Mr Lee’s California Beef Noodle restaurants are a staple around Beijing and many Chinese cities. Mr. Lee, a Chong Ching native according to the poster in the restaurant I was in on Sunday morning, moved to the US where he made his money in Beef Noodles, returning to take this niche in Chinese cuisine by [...]
Continue reading “The California Beef Noodle King is Hiring.” »
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