Monthly Archives: November 2006

The Rise of Nations

I just caught this story on ESWN and found it extremely interesting to get a more in depth look at what Chinese people think. The article is basically a collection of translated comments from people who happened to have watched CCTV's recent 12-part series called The Rise of Nations. The show details, using CCTV-style history, …

November 29, 2006
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Blogger Unblocked, Again

So, don't I just finish posting a new LLW entry regarding getting around the Great Firewall of China, when it opens up and lets Blogger/Blogspot blogs through. I swear there's just some Party member hanging out in a room somewhere deep underground in Beijing flicking a switch connected to various Web sites. Just sitting there …

November 28, 2006
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Clean Bill Of Health

Well folks, she's going to make it. Maggie went in for her 10-day follow-up test to be sure she was all ok, and no problems. Everything is back to normal. Now, I understand we often can't choose when these crazy medical emergencies happen, but honestly, what winds of fate have it in for me? Upon …

November 26, 2006
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Infernal Affairs vs. The Departed

I just finished watching The Departed, Martin Scorsese's latest bloodbath. It was, as expected, great. For all the flack he gets, I think DiCaprio is easily one of the most talented actors of his generation. No stranger to violent Scorsese films, he fit right into the part of an in-deep undercover cop slowly losing his …

November 20, 2006
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The Library Project

Hey, my friend Tom, through his company Nomadic Marketing, has set up The Library Project, an ambitious and altruistic (as far as corporately sponsored altruism can be truly altruistic) goal of providing two local Dalian orphanages with libraries. Desks, chairs, reading mats, bookshelves and a bunch of books to fill them with. It's an admirable …

November 20, 2006
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I’d Like To Thank The Academy

There's just something more "real" about British future-world/post-apocalyptic movies. I think it's the drab, muted colours of the country itself that lend a very plausible tone to the films. Logan's Run, 1984, A Clockwork Orange, Brazil, 28 Days Later and now Children of Men are all movies I enjoyed greatly and I am a man …

November 20, 2006
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Happy Birthday Sis

Hey, so the other day was my sister's birthday – and between trying to call her and wish her such, and make her a little present (more on that in a minute), I neglected posting it on here. When I finally did get in touch with her via e-mail for her new phone number she …

November 19, 2006
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vLog.07: Happy Birthday Sis

Sending gifts over oceans, especially from China, can be a challenge. Thankfully with the help of some talented little students and the Internet, stamps aren’t always needed. You’ll have to excuse the modified lyrics, but just getting my students to sit still long enough to deliver this little message was tough enough, never mind what …

November 19, 2006
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Internal Affairs – 放屁

Not sure if you folks have been following this stuff about the cold–hot treatment that Stephen Harper (he'd be Canada's Prime Minister, for all the non-Canucks that read) has been receiving by China at the APEC conference in Vietnam this week, but it's just stupid. My buddy Dezza has a great post about it over …

November 18, 2006
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Crisis In Suzhou: Released!

She's HOME! I meant to post last night, but after another day of failing to get Maggie out of the damn hospital, I just didn't have the energy for it. Also, with my last post being a bit biting, and my most recent LLW post being down right venomous, I figured perhaps my thoughts were …

November 16, 2006
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Crisis In Suzhou: On Standby

I hate waiting. Hate it. Hate it nearly as much as I hate Chinese hospitals. So, waiting in a Chinese hospital – you might imagine – is one of my least favorite things to waste my hours on (and I waste a lot of hours). So, I'm back at home, and Maggie's still not here. …

November 15, 2006
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