This morning while browsing the New York Times I came across this stunning full page Apple ad. Terrific collaboration on the part of two of America’s top lifestyle brands. [and a nice explainer on native advertising, here at the Guardian]
All posts in Appreciations and Recommendations
Shanghai Bishop Jin Luxian’s Legacy
This mostly dormant blog was started in 2007 with almost no agenda beyond plans to expand on my just-published profile of Shanghai’s Catholic bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian in the July/August 2007 issue of the Atlantic. I did that, and over the years I kept up with Jin – though I didn’t publish anything much beyond…
China’s Titanic Nude Scene
In truth, there are only a couple of things I know for sure about China. One, if you’re in a big city, you’re never more than two blocks from a great meal; two, the stop lights are voluntary; and three, Titanic is huge. Thus, it came as no surprise to anyone here that – over the…
In China, you’re more likely to beat the hell out of your doctor, than sue him.
On Thursday China Daily reported that 17,000 violent incidents took place in Chinese hospital in 2010, affecting roughly 70 percent of all public hospitals in China. What’s a “violent incident?” By and large, it’s an act of aggression by a patient, or a patient’s family, against a medical practitioner. This week I take a deeper look…
Appearing with Mara Hvistendahl at Shanghai Lit Festival – SUNDAY the 18th
On Sunday I’m going to have the distinct honor of moderating my friend Mara Hvistendahl‘s appearance at the Shanghai International Literary Festival. The hour-long session will start at 15:00 at M on the Bund. My understanding is that it’s been sold out, but apparently mypiao has a few tickets available for those who show up…
At Bloomberg: Bear Bile Brouhaha
Bear bile. Before last week, I don’t think that I’d ever had a conversation about the substance – much less written about it. But that was before I heard about Guizhentang, a Chinese pharmaceutical firm that extracts the substance from the gall bladders of 470 bears that it keeps at its Fujian farm. The extraction process…
Jeremy Lin and the question of race.
On Valentine’s Day the washed-up American boxer Floyd Mayweather logged into twitter to announce: “Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he’s Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don’t get the same praise.” To put it lightly, the tweet was not received well by US commentators,…
Rock Soldier: a Chinese Rock and Roll Story.
On July 6, 1957, John Lennon was introduced to Paul McCartney in between shows by Lennon’s band. McCartney, it is said, could tune a guitar and sing Twenty Flight Rock, and that was that – musical history was changed. It’s a nice story, but not nearly as rock and roll as the night in 1964…
Personal Note: “You’ve got to do.”
During the four years that I’ve kept this blog, I’ve been reluctant to offer too many insights into my life away from my laptop. This is for many reasons, not least of which I’m pretty sure that the folks who come here for the China blogging don’t come here for, say, blogging about what podcast…
Unnatural Selection: Missing Girls, Abortion, and the Perversion of Choice
A few years ago, while visiting a small, prosperous city a few hours from Changsha, in China’s Hunan Province, I paused outside of a primary school to snap a photo of grandparents eagerly awaiting the afternoon bell and the grandchildren who would emerge from the school gate. A few minutes later, when that bell rang,…