Marco Pomo

Flower

2007-07-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

A starving artist, his wife, and his three-year-old daughter were invited to dinner by a successful artist. After the meal, the young girl found a used napkin on the floor, squished, and smashed, and dirty. She picked it up and said, "Look, Daddy! It's a flower!" Her father took the napkin from her and said, "No, no, Sweetie. It's yucky!" The successful artist took the flower from his young protoge, handed it back to the girl and said, "It's a flower."

Milan Kundera

2007-07-22T04:08:00.000-07:00

"Perhaps all the questions we asked of love to measure, test, probe, and save it has the additional effect of cutting it short. Perhaps the reason we are unable to love is that we yearn to be loved, that is, we demand something (love) from our partner instead of delivering ourselves to them, demand-free, and asking nothing but their company."

Disney's Desperate Housewives

2007-07-21T22:40:00.000-07:00

I bet you will lol

2007-07-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

Zhang Jianhua

2007-07-14T05:14:00.000-07:00

“I am not just trying to criticize my country for the sake of it. I want my country to be better." -Zhang Jianhua

BEIJING - It is not easy to forget an encounter with Zhang Jianhua’s sculptures of Chinese coal miners; that is, if one is lucky enough to see them.

Many of the life-size works depict miners sitting on the ground in their black rubber boots wearing looks of sheer fatigue. Some stare blankly into the distance or prop up their heads with both hands, their faces fixed in nameless agony.

(more...)

Live Earth (save ourselves)

2007-07-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of Al Gore, Laurie David, Sheryl Crow, George Clooney, Bono, one.org, etc. who are doing what they feel they must to make a difference. Gore and David's movie (An Inconvenient Truth) created a tipping point for global warming; David and Crow toured colleges in the U.S. to raise environmental awareness; Clooney quietly visited Beijing with Don Cheadle to discuss Darfur with the CPC; Bono accepted an editor position at Vanity Fair to push stories on Africa and world poverty. I lived in Ghana for two years--half of the time in villages, living three days a week with electricity and drawing my water from a well. Every African social issue appeals to me, and admire anyone who turns their sympathies there.

I believe these celebrities are sincere in their efforts, and reject the notion that they are simply jumping on a bandwagon. Humanitarian progress has always been supported first by artists, then the public, then governments. Some might say these events are all razzle-dazzle and do not do enough to translate awareness into action. I disagree. Just as Moses had to lead the Israelites around for 40 years, it generally takes a generation for things to turn. Even if these celebrities were disingenuous in their motives, it all serves to tip things in the right direction. I wish more venue-packing celebrities would get involved.

I remember reading about Live Earth earlier this year, and supported the cause. But I lost track. Work consumes me. I work hard, seven days a week, and eventually had to turn all my RSS feeds off in order to concentrate and get things done. (Sometimes we're all just a little too connected.) I would not have traveled to Shanghai for the concert, but I would have attended in Beijing had the concert come here.

Two books tipped me: "The Future of Life" by E. O. Wilson, and "Beyond Culture," by Edward Hall. I believe that the roots of environmental destruction are culural and psychological. As Hall argues:

"There are two related crises in today's world. The first and most visible is the population/environmental crisis. The second, more subtle but equally lethal, is humankind's relationships to its extensions, institutions, and ideas, as well as the relationships among the many individuals and groups that inhabit the globe. If both crises are not resolved, neither will be. Despite our faith in technology and our reliance on technological solutions, there are no technical solutions to most of the problems confronting human beings. Furthermore, even those technical solutions that can be applied to environmental problems can't be applied rationally until humankind transcends the intellectual limitations imposed by our institutions, our philosophies, and our cultures. Compounding all of this is the realty of politics."

Or as R World blogger, Ron Davison, states:

"We simply won't be able to address the problem of climate change (or any of a number of other problems) without first changing our operating system."

There are plenty of good books, movies, and websites informing us that the sky is falling, and there are plenty of credible science reports to back them all up. And while there are plenty of top ten lists offering solutions of what one can do to prevent or postpone catastrophe (drive less, recycle more, plant a tree), there seems to be a dearth of plausible, practical systems of mass implementation.

Various groups will tell you that the problem lies in government, capitalism, free trade, public education, "the man," God, Satan. Few, however, are attacking environmental destruction where it begins: unconscious, eco-aggressive patterns in the mind. Without a clear understanding of the social/psychological roots of environmental destruction, or an effective method for change, humans will continue to drive more, recycle less, and cut down trees.

A global tipping point is in order—a worldwide eco-friendly marketing epidemic. Nothing shy of brainwashing the entire human populace (or a large enough chunk to make a difference) is going to make a difference. Events like Live Earth push us in the right direction, however "trendy" they may seem in the eyes of the anti-bandwagon backlash.

This man is a son of a bitch

2007-07-06T02:43:00.000-07:00

I try to love my neighbor and bless my enemies... but I'm having a really hard time understanding the senselessness of this man's actions. He bit off the lip and ear of a 3-year-old girl. She is permanently disfigured. Apparently, the biting abuse had been going on for some time.

i-on

2007-07-03T09:28:00.000-07:00

power
out-
ages, dark-
ness; con-
jures memo-
ries of me;
Africa; vill-
age; 19;
no amen-
i-
ties; natur-
al.
moon and
star clocks;
sun and
cloud show-
ers. in-
dust-
rial
r-
evolution.
umbr-
el-
la-
s and,
hats, c-
over head;
insul-
ate our lie-
ves. man-
made artific-
i-
al ill-
us-
ions
cloud.
surround.
out
power.

myPhone

2007-07-03T03:47:00.000-07:00

I wish I could go back and find my original words (written in 2003) on the BBS where I first posted them. I said, "Why doesn't someone make a phone, that's also a camera, that's also an iPod, that plays movies, and can get online?"

But the people on the BBS thought I was silly. "It's too much." "It would be awful." "The quality would be poor." "I would much rather have a really nice MP3 player, a really nice camera, a really nice phone, and a really nice computer."

Libby-rated

2007-07-03T02:47:00.000-07:00

I said it with Enron. I said it with Rove. I said with Libby. I said it with Cheney. When will people listen?

Two things need to be done:

1) The impeachment process needs to be used in this country.

2) Impeached presidents, like felons, should lose certain powers, and the first power they should lose is pardoning their pals.

Otherwise, who cares about oversight, the judicial process, or balance of power? Any administration can do whatever it wants and then pardon itself!

Post on your blogs and spread the word.

Laozi and Zhuangzi, grandpappies of Daoism

2007-07-02T03:10:00.000-07:00

“Morality made by the mind gets in the way of natural goodness.” Zhuangzi

“People judge as right what they personally consider pleasant, and judge as wrong what they personally consider unpleasant. Convincing others of what is right cannot, therefore, be equated with teach the truth. That is only teaching others to agree with you. It is not about putting an end to error, but putting an end to opinions contrary to your preconceptions.” Laozi

“If some poor devil steals a belt buckle, he is decapitated. If a powerful politician takes possession of a whole country, all the professional moralizers flock to him to put their ‘wisdom’ at his disposal. The logical conclusion is that, rather than wasting one’s time with small thefts, one should steal a whole country. Then one will not have to keep stealing fear the executioner’s ax.” Zhuangzi

“Decadence began with the introduction of the laws of marriage and family, which seemed like progress at the time but which actually inaugurated the ruin of the primordial simplicity and natural promiscuity.” Zhuangzi

“All official proclamations designed to lecture people about what is morally good and just are artificial and against nature.” Zhuangzi

“I will not praise those who do violence to their nature by piously practicing phony, manmade morality. Human beings do not become good through practicing artificial goodness, but by living naturally.” Zhuangzi

“Artificial goodness and justice are as odious to me as vice and depravity.” Zhuangzi

“Abandon trying to seem good, throw out self-righteousness, and rediscover natural compassion.” Laozi

“Give up trying to seem holy, forget trying to appear wise, and it will be a lot better for everyone.” Laozi

“If you focus on people’s foibles and not their qualities, you will find it difficult to find a single good person in the whole world. There is no one who does not have shortcomings. It is the human condition. Accept it.” Laozi

“The foot does not feel a perfect shoe. The waist is not aware of a perfect belt. The perfect heart is not plagued by guilt caused by artificial ideas of what is good and bad; it naturally acts well. Perfection is being as something naturally is.” Zhuangzi

“Is life anything but a dream? Some who wake from a good dream are upset, while others who wake from a bad dream are pleased. Death is the great awakening, after which one says of life that it was all a long dream. But few among the living understand this. Most believe themselves wide awake! They actually believe they are kings and servants.” Zhuangzi

“Everything we perceive as objectively true in this world is actually personal and objective.” Wangni

“The mass of people believe their judgments to be their own. They get very offended when it is suggested that they have actually received them ready-made from others and have simply been puppets of popular opinion all their lives. The speak in the current jargon and dress in the latest fashion—not from any personal sense of style but just to fit in. And these servile imitators actually believe they are self-determining! How ridiculous! This is an incurable sickness because people are convinced they are not suffering from it. It is a universal madness because everyone is infected.” Zhuangzi

“A man lived for sixty years and in this time he changed his opinion sixty times. Fifty-nine times he was absolutely convinced he was right, and fifty-nine times he was forced to admit he had had it all wrong. And who knows if his sixtieth opinion, which he held when he died was any better than the fifty-ninth? This happens to anyone who focuses on little things, while ignoring larger. A pebble held close to the eye obstructs all else.” Zhuangzi

Why I'm not voting for Hillary

2007-07-01T13:52:00.000-07:00

Later, I'll tell you why I am voting for Barak Obama. But in this post, I'll give you just one reason why I'm not voting for Hillary.

Let's look at the Bush/Clinton influence on American politics since 1980.

80-84 Bush Sr., VP
84-88 Bush Sr., VP
88-92 Bush Sr., Pres
92-96 Clinton, Pres
96-20 Clinton, Pres
00-04 Bush Jr., Pres
04-08 Bush Jr., Pres

That is 28 years of a Bush or a Clinton in the White House as either a president or vice president. Electing Hillary would extend that to 32, or possibly even 36 years. Do we really want to do that? That's almost 40 years. That was the average life expectancy a century ago -- an entire generation. That's how long the Jews wandered around in the desert.

It's time for new blood. It's time for the next generation of leaders to step in. Kennedy was a next generation election (1960). Carter was a next generation election (1976). Clinton was a next generation election (92). (A 16-year pattern.) I think America will vote for the younger generation. I think America will vote for Obama.

I don't think the republicans can find a viable candidate. Clinton, Obama, or Edwards could probably all beat anyone the republicans throw up. The republicans are putting up older generation leaders like Giuliani, Romney, McCain. Respective merits and demerits aside, these men simply represent old wine.

So why do we need new wine? Here's why:

The United States believes in the separation and limitation of power among its leaders. Term limits are an ode to this dynamic. Career politicking inevitably results in an inner circle of leadership—a congressional clique concerned more about group preservation than population represention.

This is seen through the compromising influence of lobbyists and the de facto sanctioning of bribes; through politicized legislation designed to engender constituent sympathy and support; through congressional ethics scandals and the general disinterest in pursuing and prosecuting one's protected peers, ("He who is without scandal, let him cast the first indictment").

Such enclosed oligarchies are ultimately out of touch with the needs of the people. Just say no to congressional cliques.

Blahg

2007-06-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

Awesome New Yorker cartoon:

"I used to have a blog. Then I went back to random, senseless barking."

Funny cartoon. But I still don't understand why some people trash blogs. I see people say things like, "Why would I want a blog? Nobody cares about what you did yesterday? What's the point?"

Blogs are great. It gives you an excuse to write. Forces you to hone your thoughts. The more you write, the better you become at it. My blog isn't an itinerary of my daily life. It's a bunch of thoughts and ideas that I have that I don't want to forget. I can go back and search them later. Like the Adam Effect. The Hulk Fallacy. The Mouse Trap Effect.

Having these posted online is important to me. One day, some giant machine is going to scan the web and give us an etymology of ideas, and start crediting people retroactively for new words, new terms, new uses for words, etc. It's good to get things up and posted and copyrighted.

China, Net Neutrality, WTO

2007-06-30T04:49:00.000-07:00

Let's say you use ComLink for your home internet service provider. One day you decide to shop around for a new cell phone, so you hop online and visit Dash, WireZon, and NexCom. Simple process, right?

But let's say that ComLink and NexCom are subsidiaries of UniCom, a giant telecommunications company. And let's say that UniCom has a secret policy of speeding up the internet connections of ComLink subscribers who are browsing the NexCom site, and slowing down the connections of subscribers who are browsing competitors' sites (sush as Dash, WireZon, or competitors of any other of its myriad affiliates).

Is this right? Is this fair? Do bigger companies with more money have the right to screw around with your internet connection and puppeteer you toward their own sites?

The Net Neutrality people say no. "Put simply, Net Neutrality means no discrimination. Net Neutrality prevents Internet providers from speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, ownership or destination. Net Neutrality is the reason why the Internet has driven economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech online. It protects the consumer's right to use any equipment, content, application or service on a non-discriminatory basis without interference from the network provider."

In my opinion: China should sanctioned by or disbanded from the WTO if it doesn't clean up its net neutrality act by getting rid of its damn FIREWALL.

For a thought-provoking view of a future world where corporate allegiance is the new religion, read Max Berry's Jennifer Government.

China denies internet censorship

2007-06-30T04:42:00.000-07:00

This is old news, but I decided to throw something up in honor of Wikipedia coming back online in China. (Actually, it's not fully back on: wikipedia.org itself does not work, nor does ch.wikipedia.org, or zh.wikipedia.org; but en.wikipedia.org does work.) Blogspot.com is still banned, but blogger.com is not. That means I can post, but I can't see the results (unless I go through a proxy, such as freeproxy.ca or hideu.net, but that sometimes scews up the pages you're looking at).

China denies Internet censorship
Friday, November 03, 2006

China does not censor the Internet — not even a smidgen, said a Chinese official attending the Internet Governance Forum in Athens, Greece.

"In China we don't have software blocking internet sites. Sometimes we have trouble accessing them but that is a different problem. We do not have restrictions at all," said the unnamed official.

He also defended China's track record on freedom of expression. "Some people say journalists in China have been arrested. We have hundreds of journalists in China and few have been arrested. This has nothing to do with freedom of expression. We have criminals in our society. There are criminals in all society."

The remarks were reported by the BBC, at least outside of China they were. Typically, websites with "sensitive" material — ranging from Taiwan independence or Tiananmen Square to Tibetan advocacy, pornography or gambling — are blocked or severely filtered in China.

Companies such as Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Yahoo and Google have all come under international criticism for their alllegedly complicit roles in the sophisticated effort, which is known as the Great Firewall of China. Studies have shown that at least 15,000 to 20,000 websites are blocked in some way in China.

The official also said the government's purchases of Cisco routers are justified — some of those routers have widely been rumored to be the bricks and mortar in the Great Firewall. Many companies under fire for their business practices in China have said their presence there helps more than harms the flow of information.

The Chinese official said more attention should be paid to more Chinese gaining access to the Internet, rather than the debate over censorship.

By: DocMemory
Copyright (c) 2006 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Chinese government official: We have talked a lot about China, and that's rather strange, because if we participate in forums like this, I think that we should spend more time reflecting on the issues that have been raised. There are millions of Chinese that have no access to the Internet. We are here because we would like to promote openness. But we have not really raised the issue of how we could participate more fully and how we could have better access to the Internet. We need to also protect tourists in our country. And I have to say that I am a Chinese citizen, and I feel that I need to be protected. For example, we are threatened by terrorism. We do need protection. So we should be sure that everyone can come to China, enjoy our beautiful country, and I heard with great interest what our Pakistani colleague said. I don't think we should be using different standards to judge China. In China, we don't have software blocking Internet sites. Sometimes we have trouble accessing them. But that's a different problem. I know that some colleagues listen to the BBC in their offices from the Webcast. And I've heard people say that the BBC is not available in China or that it's blocked. I'm sure I don't know why people say this kind of thing. We do not have restrictions at all.

Nick Gowing, BBC anchor and session moderator: Would you like to elaborate on that?

Chinese official: How can I elaborate on it if we don't have any restrictions? Some people say that there are journalists in China that have been arrested. We have hundreds of journalists in China, and some of them have legal problems. It has nothing to do with freedom of expression.

Richard Sambrook, director of the BBC World Service: I'm glad he listens in Geneva. But if he was in central China, he would not be able to listen on short-wave radio and not be able to read our Web site. This is very well established. (It's) effectively blocked...and has been for years.

Lightning

2007-06-30T04:22:00.000-07:00

Can someone explain it to me for real? Does lightning go up-down, or down-up? Why do I seem to recall someone trying to say it goes down-up.

Anyway. Nice pic, non?

Macau

2007-06-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

What a charming place. Macau was settled back in the day (16-something or other) by Portugeuse sailors and Jesuits, who founded the first Western-style university in Asia, called the University of Far East Asia. Today, the same school is called the University of Macau.

Macau used to be 3 islands, but is now a peninsula and two islands. Most of its economy is driven by tourism, and most of its tourism is driven by gambling. Last year it took in more cash than Vegas, so this year, everyone's rushing to develop more attrractions. I hope the place doesn't lose its charm and its soul.

We flew into the Lantou airport in Hong Kong, then took the train to one of the islands (Hong Kong? Kowloon?). Then we went to a book store. Wow. It was just like the bookstores back home! Lots of titles, and no pressure to push state prop. The first book I saw in the Chinese section was a book my friend Victor had been looking for all over Beijing, but couldn't find, called The People's Republic of Desire:

Then we had dinner at a nice Vietnamese restaurant overlooking the harbor. When we walked out, we saw this:

Then we took a Turbo Jet ferry from Hong Kong to Macau, got in a taxi, and went to our hotel, the Wynn. Nicest hotel I've ever stayed at, that's for sure.

On our first day, we visited the Maritime Museum and learned the history of how Macau was settled, and some Eastern and Western sea inventions, such as compasses, astrolabes, etc. We also saw several types of ships, both Portuguese and Chinese, and depictions of life at sea.

An ancient myth in Macau is of a young girl who acheived goddess status at the age of 13. She protects people on the ocean. Her name is Ama. They built a temple for her in the Ama harbor, called "Ama Gao." When the Portuguese arrived, they asked if they could dock for a while. The local people said yes. When they asked the name of the place, the were told "Ama Gao," and that's why we call it Macau (Portuguese spelling) or Macao (English spelling).

The Portuguese and Macanese lived peacefully for hundreds of years. The pirates of the South China Sea surrendered to the Portuguese in 1810 on Macau. During WWII and the U.S.-Vietnam war, Macau accepted thousands of refugees. In 1949 when Mao created China, the new party declared that Macau was a territory of China, and that Macau had always been a territory of China. They decided to let the Portuguese control it for the time being. In 1999, Macau was given back to China (just as Hong Kong was given back in 1997) under the terms that their social, cultural, and economic systems would remain the same for at least 50 years.

The Macau Museum was great. It's in the same spot where the battle fortress used to be. (Walls become roads. Battle fortresses become museums. I love it.) When you walk in, there are two displays on either side. One side is the history of langauge, philosophy, religion, and technology in the East. The other side is the the history of langauge, philosophy, religion, and technology in the West. Both displays were shown side by side, given equal status. No "Us vs. Them." No desire to make one side look better than the other. Macau really seems to be a syncretist state. I love it.

I took a walk early one morning at about 5:30am. I walked past the casinos and up narrow alleys to the forest hills, where one can walk ancient paths and explore old churches and fortresses. It was so peaceful. The air was clean. The sky was blue. Lots of people out for a morning walk. None of them overly surprised to see me, or prone to staring. One of the hills has the ruins of the St. Paul cathedral at the top, near one of the fortresses used to guard against pirates. There's an authentic crypt beneath the church, with lots of bones down there, and a painting depicting the crucifiction of 23 Jesuits or so (in 16th century Japan).

Below is one of the most European-looking places we visited, the Largo do Senado, a large plaza with shops, restaurants, and happy people.

My favorite part of the trip was hooking up with Kim (Vietnamese Canadian) and Anders (Canadian Canadian) for a good Macanese meal (hybrid Portuguese/Macao food and spices) on Taipa island (lots of cool bridges), a walk toward the Venetian casino, and a music show at the Sands casino (largest casino in the world), and a murderous toast wherein blood was nearly shed.

Another thing I liked a lot about the place was that the internet worked without any trouble whatsover. Didn't matter what I wanted to look for, the internet worked every time. No blockage. No stoppage. No mafan (trouble).

Henrik Ibsen and the Mousetrap Effect

2007-06-19T10:49:00.001-07:00

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet thinks his father was murdered by his uncle Claudius. Hamlet stages a drama similar to the murder in order to gauge his uncle's reaction. "The plays the thing, wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king." Claudius does indeed recognize himself in the drama, and storms out of the theater.

Henrik Ibsen is regarded as the Shakespeare of Norway, but he wasn't well receive by the people of his time. He wrote everyday plays--not about kings and queens, or Romeos and Juliets, long ago in a galaxy far, far away--but about you and your spouse, duking it out verbally for all the neighbors to see and hear. It was a bit too much to handle.

All the world's a stage, but most people don't like seeing their dirty laundry spread from one end to the other. That's why writers use metaphor and euphemism. Planet of the Apes isn't about monkey aliens. The Rush song "The Trees," isn't about trees.

'Amor Amor' by Zhao Nan

2007-06-18T12:11:00.001-07:00

Stills from my friend's indie movie, shot in Estonia. Don't you think it looks cool?

More coincidence

2007-06-18T02:29:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I was looking for part-time jobs. I found one doing product descriptions. I got a reply that said, "Damn, we just hired someone else. But can I keep you on file?"

I said yeah.

A month later I get an email from her again. "Do you want the job?" she says.

"No," I say. "But my friend Ben does."

So I got Ben online within a minute and chatted with him about the job. Turns out he was interested. I made plans to go in and visit Kendra and see if she couldn't work something out with him.

When I meet Kendra she says, "So you're writing a screenplay?"

"Yeah," I say. "About a group of pirates from the South China Sea. 1810."

"Is it the girl!?" she asks.

"Yeah!" I say. "It is the girl! With the husband, and the kid."

She knew who the girl was. (There was a pirate girl named Yang Shi/Zheng Shi/Zheng Yi Sao. There was also a husband and a kid.)

"How do you know about the girl?" I asked.

"I'm a pirate freak," she said. "I'm planning a pirate tour of the world."

(Time out. The people sitting next to me right now are talking about wanting ot go watch Pirates 3. Weird.) (More more coincidences.)

Here's another coincidence.

Last week some professors flew in. They asked me if I would show them around. I did. They wanted to see Forbidden City. We looked on the subway map. I couldn't remember if it was East or West gate. So I asked a girl there, in Chinese.

"Hi," I said. "Can you help me?"

"Sure."

I asked her if we should go to East or West. She didn't know. "I don't know anything about the Forbidden City," she said. But she was nice. So we exchanged information.

"What do you do in Beijing?" I said.

"I study tour guide," she said. (Haha.)

The next week I went out for lunch with her. After lunch, she went back to school, I walked around, looked for a cafe, found one, sat down, looked to my left, and saw a magazine. The cover article said, "The Truth About Pirates." It was an article on China owning up to its history of piracy (at least the real, ocean, swashbuckling variety).

Bizarre.

But wait! There's more! "Do you live here with your parents?" I asked.

"No," she said. "They live down near Zhuhai (pearl sea)." Which is where my script about the six colored Ladrone pirate fleets takes place, in Zhuhe (pearl river).

Bizarre.

But wait! There's more! Turns out one of the professors was a real Pirates fan, so I took him to a place where he could buy a pirated Pirates 3 to show his daughters and students, 哈儿哈儿. Also turns out he lives exactly six houses from the home where I grew up. Two of the other professors lived about 20 houses from where I grew up. And the other one new my grandfather in California. Turns out I must have met him there at my grandmother's funeral in 1990.

But wait! There's more!

This is non-pirate related, but it is a huge coincidence.

After I picked up that pirate magazine from the cafe (yes, I stole it, arrgghhh!) (I couldn't tempt fate and NOT take it, now could I?) I decided to go for a walk. So I put in my headphones, and I walked this way, and I walked that way, and I listened to this NPR segment, and that NPR segment.

Finally I'm near Wangfujing. So I go to the bookstore. I go up to the second floor. By now NPR is talking about the movie "Sahara" and what an awful flop it was. It's based on a Clive Cussler novel and lost $100 trillion dollars or something like that. (Clive and the Sahara makers are in the news now because they both sued each other.)

At the exact MOMENT when that Sahara NPR thing ended, I looked down, I saw a book. "Sahara" by Clive Cussler.

Bizarre.

I took a picture of it. (And you're just going to have to trust me.)

There are so many biza儿 coincidental things that happen like that here in this mysterious land. Weird. Makes me think I must be doing something right. The gods of atheism are shining down on me and making life interesting.

And now for the most bizarre thing of all: I came to Beijing to research Chinese DVD piracy and ended up writing a DVD about a Chinese pirate 啦. :)

The other religious extremist

2007-06-15T04:33:00.000-07:00

If you want people to contract HIV and die of AIDS and actively oppose measures to research AIDS and save lives, you're a terrorist.

If you're in favor of illegally detaining and torturing people because of their race or religion, you're a terrorist.

If you're in favor of a nuclear war in the Middle East because you think you're holy book says there's gonna be one, you're a terrorist.

If you think you don't have to conserve resources for future generations or be concerned about the welfare of the planet because a messiah is going to come save you and your religious club, you're a terrorist.

Genius

2007-06-15T00:45:00.000-07:00

You owe it to yourself to become a regular reader of Rob Breszny's Freewill Astrology. Trust me. This is more than just mild astro-related entertainment. On any given week, Rob might introduce you to some clever fable, an ancient poet, or some epic battle from history, the metaphor of which (supposedly) will guide you through the week. Whether you're a believer or not, you'll find yourself great empowered by the nuggets he presents week after week, free of charge. Have a clicksy:

500 impersonations in 2 minutes

2007-06-14T05:30:00.000-07:00

NY Times article on Cheney

2007-06-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

This article was so good, I couldn't decided on a single paragraph to post as a lead... so I'm just going to re-print the whole thing. :)

Dick Cheney Rules

The Associated Press reported that Mr. Cheney’s office ordered the Secret Service last September to destroy all records of visitors to the official vice presidential mansion — right after The Washington Post sued for access to the logs. That move was made in secret, naturally. It came out only because of another lawsuit, filed by a private group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, seeking the names of conservative religious figures who visited the vice president’s residence.

This disdain for accountability is distressing, but not surprising. Mr. Cheney has had it on display from his first days in office, when he refused to name the energy-industry executives who met with him behind closed doors to draft an energy policy.

In a similar way, Mr. Cheney seems unconcerned about little things like checks and balances and traditional American notions of judicial process. At one point, he gave himself the power to selectively declassify documents and selectively leak them to reporters. In a recent commencement address, he declaimed against prisoners who had the gall to “demand the protections of the Geneva Convention and the Constitution of the United States.”

Mr. Cheney is the driving force behind the Bush administration’s theory of the “unitary executive,” which holds that no one, including Congress and the courts, has the power to supervise or regulate the actions of the president. Just as he pays little attention to old-fangled notions of the separation of powers, Mr. Cheney does not overly bother himself about the bright line that should exist between his last job as chief of the energy giant Halliburton and his current one on the public payroll.

From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Cheney received “deferred salary payments” from Halliburton that far exceeded what taxpayers gave him. Mr. Cheney still holds hundreds of thousands of stock options that have ballooned by millions of dollars as Halliburton profited handsomely from the war in Iraq.

Reviewing this record — secrecy, impatience with government regulations, backroom dealings, handsome paydays — it dawned on us that Mr. Cheney is in step with the times. He has privatized the job of vice president of the United States.

Ira Glass, Chicago Public Radio

2007-06-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

Ira does "This American Life" for Chicago Public Radio. He studied Semiotics at Brown University. In these four short clips, he's talking about storytelling.