Whenever I journey home for a visit, I’m certain that I push the limits of friendship and familial bonds with my constant weaseling of “in China…” into far too many conversations. Out for dinner, I may casually mention how much cheaper dinning in China is. Walking down the street, I’ll drop a remark about how …Read More
I’ve been enjoying my past few months of being a new Android user; but residing in China entails some frustrations and difficulties in getting the most out of your Google-powered smartphone – especially with regards a lack of paid apps support, and some popular apps missing from the Chinese version of the Android market. Here …Read More
John at Sinosplice has a review of a (gasp!) new update of Wenlin, the software dictionary that first introduced many a lost laowai to the wonderful world of Chinese characters. I was certainly one of them. I remember a few years back complaining to another foreigner in Kunming about my inability to learn characters well. …Read More
So, it’s a little late and most of us have begrudgingly returned to work, but æ–°å¹´å¿«ä¹ fellow laowai. I captured my own thoughts, photos and videos of my 6th Chinese New Year’s Eve on my blog, and so won’t waste space with a reiteration here. However, I wanted to share this great short video by …Read More
I’ve seen some fancy tea pouring before, but this takes things to a slightly elevated level. Shot by Peter Luginbühl in Chengdu, Sichuan.Read More
I was the first of my friends to jump on the man-bag fashion-wagon. Despite the constant “murse-wearing” ribbing I took, and the defensive protests that it’s not a “European carryall“; there’s no denying the practicality of not having to load all your modern man-gear into your pockets. That is to say, I’m quite open to …Read More
Here’s an interesting short documentary by DAZED & CONFUSED x DIESEL about the Beijing-based comic collective Cult Youth:
More information about the video after the jump.Read More
… He died an old man in a cold Chinese hospital an entire hemisphere removed from everyone and everything he had ever known. Surrounded by strangers, he couldn’t even have read his own obituary.Read More
There are no shortage of ways to trip yourself up in the emotionally saturated mire where animal cruelty meets cultural relativism. I’m usually happy to leave such mine fields alone, but rare is the opportunity for me to talk about my homeland, my nowland, and clubbing baby seals all in one breath. This past week …Read More
When Shanghai-based expat Jakob Montrasio first told me he was directing a spaghetti western set in his adopted city, I’m sure I blinked uncomprehendingly. The movie, Shangdown: The Way of the Spur is an east-meets-west kung fu cowboy mashup. This Bruce with boots (or Clint with a kick) premise for a film seemed strange and …Read More
Later this year Alison Klayman’s feature-length documentary on the infamous Ai Weiwei will be released. Out now is a teaser trailer that does it’s job well, and has whet my appetite to see more. Unfortunately due to its hosting on the blocked Vimeo video sharing site, you’ll need a VPN to watch it (note to …Read More
I had an English class once where this girl interrupted me to ask what I thought of Japan, and without waiting for an answer, proceeded to tell me that Japan had killed many Chinese people, that they hated China, they were jealous of China. Then she went into Korea. Korea “stole our culture”. You’d think imitation the sincerest form of flattery, but not this girl.
I didn’t know what to say. On one hand, listening to this recorded message, it dawned on me that I was 12,000 miles away from everyone and everything I had ever known…and that according to some people, this, this, blind allegiance, blatant censorship, and self-checking all in the name of “harmony”…this is the next superpower.
On the other hand, she was speaking. I take what I can get.Read More
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