Tag Archives: Resident Alien

Holiday special: An advanced socialist dessert culture

In my years here, I have participated in passionate and heated debates on virtually all aspects of Chinese politics and society. What is the true nature of the government? Can the Chinese educational system produce creativity? Is the country rising … Continue reading

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Remembering Talk Talk China and the “Cycle of Funk”

A lot has changed in the China blogosphere since I first put (virtual) pen to paper for Imagethief in June, 2004. I can’t think of many blogs that are still around from those days in anything like their original form. … Continue reading

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Missing children and how parenthood killed my chances of being a manly-man

Stick with me here, because I want to plug Charlie Custer’s work-in-progress documentary, Living with Dead Hearts, but before I do I need to go into some history. It’s clear in hindsight that I was never really meant to be … Continue reading

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I can haz international funds?

After seven years and change in China it’s hard not to come to the conclusion that the purpose of the Chinese banking system is to keep you from doing anything useful with your money. It is widely said that the … Continue reading

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In which I finally hire a car and driver

After seven years of taking taxis in Beijing I finally crossed the Rubicon of bourgeois colonialism and hired a car and driver. I now have two full time domestic employees, which seems somehow wrong. In the back of my mind … Continue reading

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What I learned when I shaved my head

I had a good run. I got more than forty years out of it. But I had to face the fact that my hair was in retreat and there was no going back. In fact, the front had already been … Continue reading

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Spamtastic use of Mao Zedong Thought

One of the fringe benefits of my job and of having my e-mail on the corporate website as a media contact has been a Cambrian explosion in the variety of spam e-mails I get. Notable among them is this machine-translated … Continue reading

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The wolf is coming…

Spotted in an area being demolished on a drive up Anli Rd. in north Beijing: “The wolf is coming! Communist Party, save us!” Make of it what you will.

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Apocalypse box part two: Apocalypse box

Yesterday I posted part one of Apocalypse Box, in which I wrote a bit about the communication problems surrounding the reactor disaster in Japan. I concluded with saying that just because something is unthinkable doesn’t mean it won’t happen. It … Continue reading

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Enshrined in comix fame

MandMX picked up a tweet I sent recently about something I saw on my morning run and turned it into a single panel cartoon in Chinese and English: Generous with regards to the amount of hair I have, but otherwise … Continue reading

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