china

oh dear lord. not one, not two, but FIVE olympic mascots! (thunderclap) Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), sent a congratulatory letter to the BOCOG saying China was “lucky to have so many beautiful animals to represent the Olympic spirit. I love them all. I believe that this little group of friends … will be extremely popular … Read More

the three gorges dam reached its final height today. it’s interesting to see pictures of the dam (bbc) because when I saw it up close it was not in the full light of day. no, it was about 3 am in the morning (more on that later) and a bit of delirium through lack of sleep…

I’m finally posting a small fraction of the pictures taken in the verdant mountains of sichuan province. sichuan has my absolutely favourite style of food, and was where I’ve seen the most beautiful scenery of my life (of which this monkey is not representative)–as we entered the province by train, the bustling chattering car was silenced for about an hour … Read More

The last of the men who threw paint at Mao’s portrait in tiananmen during the protests in 1989 was released from prison yesterday, now mentally ill from beatings and solitary confinement. He was originally imprisoned for sabotage, counter-revolutionary propaganda, and “very avant-garde views on art”. Some friends and I went to tiananmen last June 4 to see if there would … Read More

M is currently accompanying Wolfowitz on a trip throughout China, doing ‘communications support’ (as she likes to ‘guillmet’ it), which involves visiting a lot of villages… and apparently eating 20 course meals with questionable meat (hey, it’s called southern chinese food). Sounds like an amazing experience — This is her description of one of the resettlement projects supported by the … Read More