tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-139337892009-12-18T19:51:28.529+08:00My blog about stuff. Such is a blog - about stuff.Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.comBlogger161125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-19075754992308081002009-12-18T19:51:00.001+08:002009-12-18T19:51:28.562+08:00

Found in the following article...Odd couple take stand against demolitionhttp://china.globaltimes.cn/society/2009-12/492775_2.htmlXu asked for 100 yuan ($15) a month, which he said will later be donated to Sun Zhongjie, the driver who cut off his finger to show his innocence in the taxi entrapment case in Shanghai.Actually, I really do hope one day in China that arrest doesn't mean guilt by

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-89059886023281418322009-12-18T19:42:00.001+08:002009-12-18T19:42:28.656+08:00

Chinese-born foreigners ought to be cautious when coming back to China. I heard of this long ago too. The gist of it all is that China treats Chinese-born foreigners differently. They are treated more like Chinese than foreign. Given that it is very difficult to intuit what is or isn't a state or trade secret here, depending on one's job, one could find oneself in deep shit quickly. I'm hoping

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-47540337289937507982009-12-14T15:58:00.001+08:002009-12-14T15:58:10.535+08:00

Narrow Dwellings: a TV series that slipped through SARFT's guidelineshttp://danwei.tv/?p=514This article touches upon several issues of interest in modern China. Prostitution, mistresses, sexual resources, money, power, corruption and so on. The 20-somethings that are graduating university are faced with complex issues relating to our basic human experience. Everybody knows the "没有车，没有房子，没办法" -

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-10182759795068438302009-11-30T09:41:00.001+08:002009-11-30T09:41:55.962+08:00

Secrets and rights: experts weigh up China's legal moves towards transparencyhttp://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-11/29/content_12560197.htmThis article is an interesting window into the legal workings of China. A municipal government's budget is considered a "state secret" in Shanghai. This means that someone mentioning that X元 is spent on staplers to a foreigner could get both parties

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-42024547124331904212009-11-23T17:48:00.000+08:002009-11-23T17:49:07.086+08:00

Love, Justice & the American Wayhttp://special.globaltimes.cn/2009-11/486844.htmlThe headline is odd. I wonder if it was sculpted to be that way. You see, the story has nothing to do with "the American Way" but everything to do with "the Chinese Way" of justice. I wonder if it was sculpted to slip past the censors. Or to tenuously test the tepid waters of commenting on the legal system in China. 

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-9536685812346425532009-11-18T13:28:00.001+08:002009-11-18T13:28:32.411+08:00

CNN reporter gets detained in Shanghai over 'Oba-Mao' shirthttp://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national-news/2009/11/18/233147/CNN-reporter.htmBanning the t-shirt is silly. Even sillier when explained with the t-shirt "may offend the American president." If anything, I expect that Obama has already secured one for himself as a souvenir. Perhaps, from a Chinese context, being hypersensitive to such

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-85970723223461248002009-11-17T18:35:00.000+08:002009-11-17T18:36:05.274+08:00

Blogspot is gone again. Not a big surprise. And here I was thinking that I should extend some credit to the crabs… Maybe later tonight or tomorrow access will be rationed out again.

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-82516636142577942782009-11-17T13:43:00.002+08:002009-11-17T13:47:22.029+08:00

It looks like blogspot.com and blogger.com are working now. Who should I thank? Obama perhaps?Hmm... it is a bit unsettling. Before, I could drop my messages from a sober mind or a Baijiu soaked mind into the ether that is the Internet and be, mostly, unconcerned that bottles adrift would be picked up in China. Now that has changed. A bit. Overall, I'd say that it is a good thing. I wonder how

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-11980743241183955762009-11-17T13:33:00.000+08:002009-11-17T13:34:04.364+08:00

For one brief moment, I saw this blog... but then it was gone. Will it come back again?

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-50458421808113143492009-11-16T22:47:00.001+08:002009-11-16T22:47:29.292+08:00

Obama to China: Uncensored Internet is healthyhttp://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national-news/2009/11/16/232891/p1/Obama-to.htmI hadn't written about this factor in the censorship of the net in China - health. A key principle to China's concept of good government is social harmony. I actually agree with this. Social harmony can encourage prosperity because the playing field is calm and

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-68367490384421435652009-11-16T15:52:00.001+08:002009-11-16T15:52:36.078+08:00

No bars, mistresses, Chinese officials warnedhttp://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/national-news/2009/11/16/232983/p1/No-bars.htmThis is not the first time I've seen this story. The first time was actually in Global Times in October.http://china.globaltimes.cn/chinanews/2009-10/479211_2.htmlThe quote in the Global Times article is interesting: "as many as 95 percent of major corruption cases are

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-37716718754813159752009-11-15T13:31:00.001+08:002009-11-15T13:31:20.493+08:00

'Sabbath' protest targets Intel - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8360429.stmThese people are protesting about working on a Saturday on a Saturday. They may pause at pressing a button on a Saturday but organizing, transporting, and all the logistics that go into the work of a protest are all okay. Some kind of loophole, eh? 

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-63569435230372789112009-11-15T03:31:00.002+08:002009-11-17T13:41:27.053+08:00

It's almost 3am and I happen to be not drunk.Tonight was a bit of a flash back to a year ago. Missing is Ben and the arguments that would ensue between Ben and Francis. I do miss Ben. Francis was at the MacBar tonight. He eventually fell asleep on the bench - traditions.As for myself, I paced it all quite well. That's the real skill in drinking - pacing. After drinking with Chinese so much

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-91618115936273206742009-11-14T02:27:00.002+08:002009-11-17T13:42:52.665+08:00

Tonight was a good night.I started from the school after having a coffee then a quck shopping tour of 北国. 北国 is generally expensive unless you find stuff in the 超市. but in the mall.. 好贵！I saw a jacket for 8000 元。that is a silly amount of cash.I'm looking for something cheaper. but that isn't found at 北国. I call a friend. She will shop with me.Tonight i go to see 瑞瑞. She is someone that I love

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-84686818740665191502009-11-10T13:22:00.000+08:002009-11-10T13:23:04.148+08:00

Binge drinking kills 3rd China Commenist [sic] official this yearhttp://www.chinapost.com.tw/china/local-news/other/2009/11/10/232130/Binge-drinking.htmDrinking 白酒 (Báijǐu) is a part of the northern culture in China. I don't remember it playing much of a role with my Hong Kong friends as, if they drank at all, would only drink beer. Because my HK friends were almost all practicing Christians, my

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-84973366342641857102009-11-01T04:11:00.000+08:002009-11-01T04:12:05.761+08:00

I just got back home. by myself. just me.I hung out at Mazzo for hours hoping that someone would be interested in me. While I was there I met 马一鑫。Before coming to Mazzo, I met 老倪 at a place to drink tea. There was a woman there who is interesting... but I went with 老倪 to Mazzo. 老倪 went home. Some co-workers were at Mazzo. But nobody for me.Nobody for me. This is a reoccurring theme for me.

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-81780324138458135402009-10-29T23:56:00.002+08:002009-11-17T14:14:38.089+08:00

In my drunken stupor the other night, I blogged a short burst about Amy.We met on Skype July 2006. That's just over three years ago. We talked a lot and shared a lot. We planned on meeting January 2008 but that didn't work out. We have a connection but how well that connection would translate into a "real" relationship is anybody's guess. If I could find that connection again in someone close

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-57004868832595423992009-10-28T08:53:00.001+08:002009-11-17T14:13:44.681+08:00

I must learn to restrain myself from inebriated blog postings.

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-66653319484215468052009-10-27T23:42:00.002+08:002009-11-17T14:13:19.009+08:00

I have a complex enough password that prevents me from texting when I am too too drunk. 但是喝多了我还能enter我的秘密。我的中 文还不好。因为我喝多了。我爱中国我也爱中国的美女。One such 美女 is Amy. Oh how I love her. She impacts ever relationship I have. She is my perfect love. Every girl gets compared to her. She is the phantom 美女。Tonight I talked with 王頔。我特别想她的声音。是个梦 想。肯定我爱她。But that is all part of another reality. Tonight, my

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-4967897249569542572009-10-23T22:24:00.002+08:002009-11-17T14:12:51.677+08:00

Officials warned on prostitutionhttp://china.globaltimes.cn/chinanews/2009-10/479211.htmlQuoting the first paragraph of the article…A Party official warned his counterparts to resist sexual temptations and preserve their moral integrity in the interests of the Party's leadership, otherwise, they will receive demerits in their performance appraisal, the latest warning that highlights the Party's

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-77251225352838970542009-10-22T23:59:00.002+08:002009-11-17T14:11:34.928+08:00

So. What about China?I've been asked about the future of China several times. It is a question of the season, in a sense. October 1st was the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. It is also a question that I ask myself often. What about China?I have bet the house on China and her future. I am not an armchair critic, comfortable in some Canadian study. I'm here… in the heart of

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-52800499265175515112009-10-16T00:25:00.002+08:002009-11-17T14:10:44.824+08:00

I met Anna again tonight, after tutoring. She lives near my student. We walked together for a few hundred meters.I was excited. Happy that she seemed eager to meet me after the lesson. She gave me an apple and a pomegranate. I told her she was too kind. We walked and talked. She explained why she didn't reply to some of my text messages. I told her it didn't matter. I enjoyed her company. I

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-30675656450513290762009-10-15T18:26:00.002+08:002009-11-17T14:09:47.690+08:00

Dad had his surgery and he went home. Relief. Everything is going to be fine.But then, the last two nights he's been returning to the hospital by ambulance. His heart is racing.Emails from mom which arrive mid day here but sent in the wee hours of the night there.Mom is strong. I get a new sense of what I've always known; she is strong. She is also very scared. So am I.

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-68404791589238658722009-10-14T08:57:00.002+08:002009-11-17T14:09:32.211+08:00

So What Exactly Happened With That Crashing Moon Probe?http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/10/13/so-what-exactly-happened-with-that-crashing-moon-probe/Some of the commenters made comments about the poor and the homeless… money spent on science is wasted.Just to keep the cost of the LCROSS mission in context…The National Rifle Association's 2004 expenses were about $207 million.

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13933789.post-62329432004388231442009-10-11T23:23:00.002+08:002009-11-17T14:09:04.373+08:00

Qzone is too cute and too laden with javascript. It is slow and it is crowded. It has the same saccharine feel of myspace. And I loathe myspace.Often when you visit a qzone, the functionality has been altered, links are scattered. The guys who wrote this steamy pile of poo also love frames way too much.I'm not a big fan of the web page as a application approach and qzone helps underline, for

Mutant Jedinoreply@blogger.com0