Shanghai Scrap

[Repeat: Idle until 2 September.]

For years, I’ve been saying that there’s no escaping the Olympics in China, and now – in a cosmic joke of sorts – I’m the living proof: twelve hours after the closing ceremonies, I’m getting ready to board a flight to London. My business is not Olympics-related, but rather a speaking engagement at the Royal Geographic Society, where I’ll be discussing the Globalization of the Asian Waste/Scrap Trade. So, if you’re in London on August 27, and wanting to see slides of giant trash piles – you’ll know where to find them.

A couple of parting items. I planned on writing some kind of Olympic wrap-up, but I’m either lacking inspiration or just tired of writing about the Olympics (which I enjoyed!). Maybe both. In either case, my one and only observation is this: the Olympics are long. Especially when you’re covering them. The third week is really a grind. Anyway, I haven’t done a very good job of posting links to my Olympics-related writing, and it seems too late to do it now. But for posterity’s sake, and if you’re already feeling nostalgic, I’m most pleased with my dispatches for the Atlantic, which covered the co-host cities of Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Qingdao.

And that’s that. It’s possible that I’ll post something related to my RGS speech, and I’ll definitely post any news about whether or not the Vancouver Sun decides to do something about the ethics/religion columnist who stole my photo. But most likely, this blog is idle until September 2.

As always, consider fulfilling your China blog cravings by visiting the superb sites featured in the blogroll to the right. Good writers, all.