February 2011
162 posts
January 2011
84 posts
“But the soldiers were no match for the people. Elderly women lay down in front...”
– Jan Wong, Red China Blues, p 238. I know it is not responsible to conflate two completely different movements or incidents during two completely different time periods, in two completely different parts of the world, but every time I hear/read/see photos of the Egyptian army restraining itself, or...
Justice Thomas Accused of Reporting Violations «... →
(article via azspot)
I do not think Clarence Thomas is a good person. And that is me being kind and generous. I’ve heard leftier lefties than I express respect for Scalia’s integrity, intellect and charm, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard Thomas described positively; even by conservatives, frankly. So, this doesn’t help.
Director Of Gory Chinese Rabbit Revolt Video "Just... →
Yeah. Right.
Could it happen in China? » The Peking Duck →
Can’t believe Gibbs got this question, but I know a lot of people are asking it. Here’s Richard at PKD’s take.
The Minimalist Chooses 25 of His Favorites -... →
Ah, Mark Bittman, I think you may be the key to my future cooking success—the conquering of my kitchen fears, you of “minimalism” and “how to cook everything”; your ethos seems somehow to line up with my embrace of baking, in that if you have enough basic knowledge and follow a recipe/instructions, you can turn out delicious things. Perhaps, I will turn to you and one...
Amazon.com: Redeemed by Fire: The Rise of Popular... →
You know, as someone who a. follows China and b. spent the last couple of years in seminary and c. is now studying the interaction between these two areas (Christianity and China), you would think I’d have heard of this book. But you’d be wrong. The next question: Why isn’t it on my reading list for my History of Christianity guided study? Is it too new? Too focused on the modern...
China Blocks ‘Egypt’ on Microblogging Service |... →
In, “That’s a surprise!” news…
Two New Videos, Two Radically Different Chinas -... →
I don’t know why, but I have been really preoccupied with the “Little Rabbit, Be Good” video drama. So, in that vein, here’s more, via the excellent WSJ China team.*
*endorsement of WSJ China team should not be construed as general WSJ endorsement.
“It’s a classic type of denial: if we can convince ourselves the young peoples’...”
– Fabulous piece by David Sessions over at Patrol—nicely dovetails with my essay from earlier this week.
The Non-Critique That Refuses to Die | Patrol
The Lazy Claims of this Article: "The Lazy Slander... →
In Christianity-Today-articles-that-make-me-angry news (first installment here): It is actually rare that a Christian piece on abortion makes me that angry. As a teenager, I somewhat unquestioningly accepted the traditional pro-choice view that I was raised with (I don’t actually mean this in a totally negative way—there was a strong emphasis on advocacy on behalf of women and...
Get the facts about Egypt
helpful, thanks!
foreignaffairsmagazine:
Get the background you need on Mubarak and Egypt—from Boutros Boutros-Ghali on Egypt in the Post-Sadat Era to CFR Fellow Steven Cook on Mohamed El Baradei’s chance for reform.
Also check out our ‘must reads’ from this Egyptian politics reading list.
“There have been enough similar cases over the last few years that —...”
– Trial of police official’s son turns cause célèbre - CNN.com
WatchIn “you don’t see that everyday news,” here is a band out of Kunming (Yunnan, China) called, I am not making this up, Quebec Redneck Bluegrass Project. If I were in Beijing, I would definitely be checking out their show, if only for reasons of novelty/absurdity. Here is how they are described on Pangbianr:
Almost certainly Kunming’s only “redneck bluegrass” band, these ...
on-broken-wings asked: Your essay "Life as Leaver" was very powerful and well written. I wanted to thank you. I once was passionate about China, went there twice and backpacking the Great Wall (not the entire length) became a life goal. Maybe I still will one day. If you ever find yourself in the Portland, OR, area I would love to pick your brain about China, God and life in general. I guess that's not a...
“Because our society is very complicated, this video can be understood in many...”
– -Wang Bo, manager of the studio that produced the subversive rabbit greeting card.
Finally, some foreign coverage of the rabbit cartoon vid, which is worth reading, because it’s also about the real vs. imagined potential of the internet to effect change in China.
ALTHOUGH, this is about the...
“The National Women’s Law Center has just issued a report quoting doctors at...”
– Tussling Over Jesus - NYTimes.com
I always have mixed feelings about Kristoff, especially when he writes on religion or China. He is often mostly right, but then can get something major wrong. For example, I think this article is spot on (I think we all know how I feel about the conservative...
The Emergence of Legal Christian Publishing in... →
Interesting development, via @ZG_Briefs on Twitter (via Desiring God blog, via Banner of Truth Mag). I believe (formerly) ELIC’s Joann Pittman is involved with this (@jkpittman on Twitter). Both ZG Briefs and Joann are worth following, btw.
FESTIVAL PROLOGUE ANNOUNCED | The Bookworm →
Umm…seriously?? DAVE EGGERS AND DAVID SEDARIS AT THE BJ BOOKWORM FESTIVAL?? The Bookworm has gone BIG TIME. How I miss the sweet, sweet Bookworm. What I wouldn’t give to be having a glass of wine on a comfy couch or browsing their fabulous China-related book collection. Or to be attending this “prologue” for the festival!!
Apropos of Me Making Bread Right Now...
M: you bake cookies for people these days?
Me: i'm really into the baking scene. it's therapeutic.
M: sounds like a slippery slope to urban farming.
Me: hahahahaha. no, but i would like to get into the urban chicken scene, as you know.
M: soon you'll be reading wendell berry and listening to over the rhine.
Me: it's not like i use all natural, healthy ingredients. although in china i did roast and puree a whole pumpkin for making bread and pie and muffins, etc. but that was because they had no canned pumpkin to be found, even at the western grocery store.
M: ok, as long as natural healthy ingredients are a last resort.
slacktivist: Fantasy role-playing games →
Re: abortion and slavery comparisons. Really worth a read. I am still sitting with it and haven’t even read the original article that he is commenting on yet.
That bogus abortion/slavery analogy is one that I used to find compelling and reassuring. It was a frequently invoked analogy in the evangelical community. We found it inspiring, but not because we knew much of anything about the...
Nixon in China, the Dinner, Is Recreated -... →
This is a random news item.
Life as a Leaver | Patrol (by yours truly) →
I wrote this a couple of months ago after reading an article in Christianity Today that seemed to give only peripheral, cursory attention to issues of suffering and doubt. Because it was a gargantuan, long-winded piece, it took some editing for length and is just now making its appearance on the internets. Which is a little bit concerning to me, because I am now back at Regent, and in fact TA-ing...
Lang Lang Says His White House Performance Wasn't... →
Oh man, what is this silly Lang Lang situation? I guess nothing, but those fenqing sure are easily excitable.
CIA Views China’s “Student Informant System” |... →
Sometimes my parents say to me, “honey, aren’t you worried that if you post [x religious/political/critical article about China], they won’t let you back into the country to work or study?” Most of the time I say, “they could care less about a 28-year-old foreigner with a blog 10 people read on a platform that’s banned on the Mainland (Tumblr),” but after...
“I want to cook you a soup that warms your soul.”
– Sade. Old school. I want to bake you some cookies and/or bread and/or cake to warm your soul!
AFP: Wife of China dissident speaks out on abuse →
“Gringo speculation as to meaning of new Confucius statue in Tiananmen Square is...”
– The Relevant Organs (relevantorgans) on Twitter
AP Exclusive: Missing Chinese lawyer told of abuse... →
You know, I’m somewhat of an apologist—to a point—for China, in terms of suggesting that there are diverse elements within the government (get ‘em, Wen Jiabao!), including people of faith; that the house church/3-self church divide is actually fairly nuanced; that you can’t equate the Chinese people with its government or judge them on that basis, etc. etc. etc., but...
The Most Emailed 'New York Times' Article Ever |... →
This is one of those “it’s funny because it’s true” items, in that a lot of the Times’ “most emailed” articles are eerily similar to this one (“here is a major new trend! that is simultaneously unattainable and awe-inspiring!”). Favorite part:
At Yael Farms, Anna gets plenty of exercise. She spends the day herding ibex, drawing water from a...
Man, do I love this. An oldie but a goodie*:
soupsoup:
“Why shouldn’t I work for the N.S.A.? That’s a tough one, but I’ll take a shot. Say I’m working at N.S.A. Somebody puts a code on my desk, something nobody else can break. Maybe I take a shot at it and maybe I break it. And I’m real happy with myself, ‘cause I did my job well. But maybe that code was the location of some rebel army in North Africa or the Middle East. Once they have...
“When a country owes you billion dollars, they’ve got a problem. When a country...”
– Jon Stewart on America’s massive debt to China (via soupsoup)
In other news...
…I have been reading a lot about Tumblr being the logical home of the creative and artistic communities. However, I am not creative or artistic in the least, and mostly post interesting articles and general thoughts. Am I an anomaly? Am I not cool enough for Tumblr? Where is my internet home? (and where is my physical home in the world?) (other than my fabulous apartment, for the year) (I am...
The End of the Bernardin Era: The rise, dominance,... →
This article makes me sad. In its triumphalism, it appears to be asserting that the conservative resurgence has no agenda aside from true Catholicism, when in fact things like “subsidiarity” are tied to particular economic policy agendas, just as the “seamless garment” was—it is an aspect of Catholic social teaching that has been seized upon by a particular segment of...
