Rants

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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A Book For Breakfast

Having recently finished Foreign Babes In Beijing, I decided last night to reload my nightstand with a new novel for my wake-up reads. I consulted my big pile of books I brought back with me from Canada and settled on one I had nearly forgotten about: The Coma by Alex Garland. Garland, for those that …

November 6, 2006
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Laowai Gives Free Driver’s Ed.

I don't know how many times I've watched absolutely retarded things go down in China and said to myself, "I really should kick that guy in the teeth for cutting off that old women shuffling across the street" or "I should have just let that bitch on the bike hit me, instead of jumping out …

October 27, 2006
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We’ve Got A Blogspot Down!

An in-China Internet user’s relationship with the Chinese powers that be is a precarious one at best. Really, using the Internet here is a bit like going to an all-you-can-eat buffet. You go one week and they’ve got that great seafood salad, but when you return the following week, the salad’s gone… oh! But they’ve …

October 26, 2006
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Boycott Chinese Men Who Are Complete F’ing Idiots

I ran across, Boycott Chinese Girls Who Date White Guys, a little gem at the always enkindling The 88s blog. A Chinese guy, generously self-endowed with the moniker TwentyFourCM, is proving new lows in illustrating stupid racial insecurity. And as us guys so often do, he’s taking his insecurities out on women. In translation, originally …

October 22, 2006
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Wikipedia Unblocked In China, Kinda…

I’ve been caught sleeping. The Chinese blogsphere is abuzz with the news that the flagship to Web 2.0, Wikipedia, is now unblocked in China. (see references below) After almost precisely a year of having to access the site through proxy services (or the secure.wikimedia.org version of the site), all us in China are able to …

October 12, 2006
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Islam: Fundamentally Flawed

Alright, give me a moment before you start the respective religious retaliation that my post’s headline might invoke. I dig Islam and I dig Christianity. By and by I agree that the two promote relatively peaceful and more fulfilling lives for several billion people. That said, I’ve never been overly kind or sensitive to any …

September 17, 2006
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Who Wants The Display Model?

So it would appear that our little world of foreign blogging in China is having its ass raked across the coals lately. Thanks to one man and his sexual exploits displayed on the net for all to see. And I say, good on ‘im! Basically, some uppity Chinese "professor" stumbled across Sex in Shanghai, a …

August 28, 2006
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AIDS: Safety First

“Chinese AIDS Vaccine Safe, Possibly Effective” I caught this headline on CCTV 9 yesterday at Maggie’s parents’ house (FINALLY, after a year and a half in this country, learned how to make dumplings). It’s also gracing the top of a Xinhua article announcing the same thing. I’m not sure what about it just made me …

August 19, 2006
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The Slayer Of The Dog That Bit You

After two weeks of whizzin’ around Southern Ontario (and bits of the US) visiting friends and family, I’ve finally returned to the poolside of my mother’s house. Though I’ve little plans to do much but smother myself in UV rays and chlorinated water for the rest of my time in Canada – I’ve been doing …

August 4, 2006
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Dalian Is A Beautiful City

I’ve lived here in Dalian for about a year and a half and in that time I’ve heard the following line more times than I care to count: “Dalian is a clean and beautiful city.” It must have been written in the “How to Properly Promote Dalian to Foreign Visitors and Residents” pamphlet that’s handed …

July 8, 2006
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