If FOX News says it, it must be true

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Aug01/0,4670,JackieChan,00.html

Also, I just got a fat wad of cash today. So I guess I'm keeping afloat. It kind of distresses me when I think of my income in terms of the number of things I could buy in a month. Like, I can get 200 blocks of sharp cheddar, or 300 iced coffees, but I can't have both. Really my two big worries right now are buying a visa (once I figure out what semi-legal channels I can go through) and buying insurance at the end of the month, which will probably eat another large chunk of my precious American money.

To cope with these problems, this Saturday I plan to go with Geoff to bar which has all you can drink for 50 RMB before 5pm or something like that, after which I'm going to go to some random guy's housewarming party where I will charm every stranger there with my drunken antics.

How to Interact with Foreigners, and other Olympics Propaganda

Don't be "excessive" when helping handicapped people. The diagram shows how to say "Beijing Welcomes You" in sign language. Today I happened across a new series of posters on the neighborhood propaganda bulletin boards about etiquette to be observed during the Olympics. Olympics propaganda is not new to Beijing, nor are paternalistic slogans on how to be a "civilized" citizen, but this new series in particular caught my eye because of one poster with a list of rules for how to act around foreigners. Always curious to understand more about Chinese behavior towards us Western folk, I stopped to take a closer look. Most delightful was a list of eight questions Chinese are not to ask us, which if observed, would leave these curious and enthusiastic hosts with essentially nothing with which to make conversation. Following are some translated excerpts along with photos from some of the posters: Smile When Communicating with Foreigners A Smile

Back on the road

Today I believe is the first day of Ramadan. All the prayer halls started broadcasting in unison over the loudspeakers at 4:45 this morning. I woke up to the sound with a bit of a cold sweat from something I ate yesterday, and sat on the toilet watching tiny ants march along the crack of the wall. Yesterday I rented a bike and rode south out of town into the rice paddies. I found a few beautiful quiet spots, but mostly it was hard to avoid the roads and motorcycle exhaust. It was good to have a bike in town at least to get away from the becak drivers, who are everywhere and make it impossible to enjoy a quiet moment in town. I was originally thinking of seeing the Dieng Plateau for a day, but I decided I really need a break from tourist destinations, so I'm going to take a bus north to Semarang after I finish this post. I found a couchsurfer who said she'll put me up tonight, and may even be able to give me a ride to Jepara tomorrow since she commutes there for work. This

Hello world!

I have but few words tonight. I will first share with you a cartoon I drew several years back when I was a fiery little upstart, before I had truly learned to appreciate the glory of the Communist Party:

Peaceful Rise

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