Hybrid Taxis There are now hybrid taxis on the streets of Beijing! One type looks just like the regular taxis, and another is shaped more like a Subaru Outback. Before anyone gets too excited, though, they’ll be gone after the Olympics. Like a lot of stuff. “Beijing/China After the Olympics” will become a huge, huge […]
Monthly Archives: August 2008
Stalking the Dream Team
Some of these pictures are just priceless. My favorite is the second one. It’s on very different scale, but people sometimes want to take pictures with me after I give a lecture at a school, and very often they don’t really care whether I’m looking or not, or if I know the picture is being […]
Opening Ceremony in 15 Minutes
Watching the buildup to the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on CCTV-5/Olympics, I remember my excitement watching the Olympics as a kid, and my cynicism disappears. Switching to CCTV-1, some of my cynicism returns. But then I switch back to CCTV-5.
Artistic Gymnastics
In Chinese, Artistic Gymnastics (the kind Mary-Lou Rhetton competed in) is called 竞技体æ“, which means something like “Competitive Skills Gymnastics”. Rhythmic Gymnastics (the kind with the balls and the flags) is called 艺术体æ“, which means “Artistic Gymnastics”. That’s confusing.
“Evaporation”
I find it amusing when people describe the smog in Beijing as “evaporation“, and not pollution. Of course, in this case the guy doing the describing is the chairman of the IOC medical commission, and he probably knows more about the issue than I do, but I still find it amusing. The most important quote […]
Two Weeks in Shanghai
Things I Like About Shanghai The general feeling of the city. (Vague, I know.) Lots of fruit stands. The good selection of English books at the airport. The Element Fruit restaurant on the arrival level of the domestic terminal at the airport. Things I Don’t Like About Shanghai 1 RMB coins that don’t fit in […]