Gold for action and drama

One of the differences between watching the Olympics here in China and back home is the sheer volume of coverage. We moved into our new apartment yesterday and after a full day of unpacking I have no mood today for trying to organize everything, so I’m sitting in the living room, laptop on lap, while [...]

The ugly duckling with a swan’s voice

China’s preoccupation with face (mianzi) has two faces, but only one voice.

For the “national interest,” Yang Peiyi (l) was replaced with Lin Maoke during the opening ceremonies because “the child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feeling and expression,” according to the music designer.
You can read the New York Times article, In Grand [...]

Indivdiual versus collective

As you are watching the Olympic Games…and if you have even a smidgen of curiosity about one of the primary differences between East and West, I urge you to check out this op-ed piece by David Brooks in the New York Times titled Harmony and the Dream.
It’s the best and most concise distillation that I’ve [...]

A (fake) Olympic achievement

Some friends invited us over for dinner last night to welcome us back to Xiangfan. Jenny’s best friend, Tian Jingsong (and her husband, Liu Jian) hosted the dinner party at their new home. Aware that one of my favorite local dishes is longxia (crawfish), Laodi and his wife (Tian Jinsong’s older sister, Dimei) had worked [...]