This book is about love. Love in the face of death, passionate love, unrequitted love, sorrow and anger caused by love. Just about every emotion that goes hand in hand with that four letter word can be within the books pages.
Read more »
Author Archive
Love in the Time of Cholera 爱
The Joys of Smoking
Until I came to China I hated cigarettes. They were addictive, they gave you cancer, made your lungs all black and icky too. At least so I was told by the countless ad’s on TV, radio and billboards. Alcohol, on the other hand, was breathlessly promoted and weed was silently accepted. But oh! to...
Read more »
Well… here it is
The powers that be couldn’t have asked for better weather today. Whether or not, as rumors say, Mother Nature’s hand was forced in creating it is not really a concern. The skies were blue and there was a light gentle breeze that felt surprisingly fresh for being in Beijing. Such miraculously good weather marked...
Read more »
Mass Media
The thousands of troops preparing for National Day have given photographers from around the world plenty of opportunity to take pictures that show the unity/sameness/discipline/scariness… of China’s massive military. The first picture I saw was stunning to me:
They looked like some sort of Photoshop effect brought to life: a bunch of cookie cutter people...
Read more »
It’s A Celebration!
Unlike in America where proud citizens show their patriotism with a bald eagle t-shirt, a lapel pin or ‘ the Calvin piss bumper sticker’, Chinese show their love for the country with flags. During last year’s Olympics I saw the red flags just about everywhere: hanging outside of store windows, in advertisements, even on...
Read more »
Journey to Three Shadows
A while back I made a long journey by subway, bus and on foot to the Three Shadows Gallery in Caochangdi. The entrance to the compound is about a five minute walk from the two lane road that carries traffic into the northern suburbs of Beijing. Walking on the narrow road hearing nothing more...
Read more »
A Visit to Tiananmen
Checking out Tiananmen Square yesterday, I can almost believe what’s been on the newspaper, TV and billboards. The government is putting on a great show for the thousands of tourist from China’s hinterlands and abroad. Already an impressive space just for it’s sheer expansiveness, the Square now is decorated with four massive display screens....
Read more »
Rockin Out
I spent one of the best nights since I’ve arrived in China jumping around in a sweaty pile to the sounds of Carsick Cars last Saturday. They played at Yugong Yishan with PK.14 and GAR well into the night. All of the bands proved why they are seen as some of the best in China. After...
Read more »
Guoqing Jie Madness (Part 2)
After eating our fill of Swedish meatballs and browsing piles of multicolored furniture with names like Fricka and Guudsvat, me and my girlfriend left Ikea in a hurry. It was 4:40pm and we just had twenty minutes before the section of the Fourth Ring road that was our only real way back home would...
Read more »