Happy Birthday Communist China

Those zany communists turn 61 today. Its hard to believe but its true, communist China is celebrating its birthday today. Actually it is quite boring, nothing like last year.

Things I Miss From America

I will be taking a vacation back to America or sanity as I like to call it, and here are the things I miss most. Family Reeses Cheetos Bugles Cheese in those cans where you squirt it out (shitty description) Reeses Real milk that doesn’t give me breasts Chinese food- no kidding we have a great place with killer egg drop soup Ding Dongs, but the ones with aluminum foil, the ones with the plastic wrap suck Ho-Ho’s Wired Magazine- yea its online but not the same thing MIT Technology Review – ditto Maximum PC mag- ditto CPU mag- ditto Football Football and Reeses Reeses and Junior Mints Greasy theaters with buttery popcorn that ravages my arteries Fresh air Barnes and Noble Any store that sells high tech stuff Denny’s and those killer fat engorged, malts, pancakes, sausages youtube not worrying about jackbooted thugs beating my ass and throwing me in jail just because I run off my mouth about something…. I mean a certain level of freedom After reading the list I realize it is a good thing I have afast metabolism, my dietary habits are horrendous, good thing Im not diabetic

Old Chinese on the Stairway

To be honest, I looked at this photo on my phone and was like- wtf was I thinking when I took this picture, this photo is stupid.. I guess I have ADD and when i was walking saw these old folks and thought, hey this will make an ace photo, I gotta take this and took the photo. This is the result, a sloppy photo with blurry edges of some old Chinese. Maybe it will strike a chord with one of you or maybe its just a waste of pixels….

Chinese Guy Sleeping in Public

Your Folder in China- Your Life History

China has a lot of things some good, some bad, and this personal ‘folder’ imho is a very very bad thing. Basically this ‘folder’ is a set of documents which tells your personal life history to all future employees, the government etc. Think if it as your social security number, nosey neighbors, family and in-laws all together and tracking and reporting all that you do to anyone who is willing to inquire about it. Confused? Me too, but let me try to explain again in a semi lucid fashion. In China each person has a personal folder or file that tracks all of their hisotry. It is used when they apply for jobs and is open to the government, I have heard. So you may ask what is in this file…Everything. I have been told that it has your folders from when you entered school, pulled little Susie wongs piggy tails, its in there. Shit your pants in the 4th grade, its in their. Letter of commendation from your local chicom little red guards to be, its in there. Basically its all of the good and bad that you have done in your life since you began to walk. I have been told, but suspect that it is not true, that it also has your family information, so if your dad is a bum, that good job may be ever so elusive to obtain…just some more great stuff from those crazy chicoms…

Equality in China- Women to Stand To Pee, Just Like the Men

When I first saw this, I thought the color of the stalls was cool, but then it the article was explained to me. Originally this was posted on the Chinese news, but is now all over the web sites. The idea is that women will use standing urinals just like the men in one certain Chinese town. It sounds odd and unsanitary but is a good idea. The article explained that toilets use a ton of water and by switching to this method, the women are saving a precious resource….It is actually a good idea. cool stalls I am sketchy on the details but I think the women use a cup or something like an oxygen mask to pee into, my friends couldnt explain this part. I guess this helps the process, but I am unsure.

Million Dollar Condos in China, come and Get ‘em

These buildings in Beijing are being constructed and will go on sale shortly (maybe they are selling now , I am unsure. ) Anyway, they cost about 80,000RMB per square meter or about U$ 11,764. This means that most of the apartments in this building will sell for U$1,000,000. The reason is that apartments in China are small, from 40, to 250 meters or so, and if one assumes that most apartments will at least be 85 meters sq. or so, then on the average you will have to drop a million bucks into your digs here. The funny thing is that foreigners dont usually trust the buildings enough to buy them here (I will blog about the poorly constructed new buildings later), and it seems you dont get much square footage for you dollars…

Drying Machines in China

Most people in China do not have drying machines for their clothes, actually I know of no one who does. So, in China they still dry their clothes the old fashioned way, as pictured here. Actually its more environmentally friendly and adds a little charm to the place…

Shanghai Construction

I went to Shanghai recently and was in a posh area. But… This being China, their quality control and construction measures are all the same. Take a look at this structure facing the building, it is for the workers to stand upon, presumably to protect them. Before I had passed by, I watched part of it collapse…

Closing of a Business in China

es, I hate to report it, but today is a sad day. well, sad for some soul-less owner of a local business. Yes its true, one of the four local ‘massage’ parlor/barbershop/house of ill-repute has closed its doors, lets have a moment of silence…. This post is not to make fun of prostitution of any sort, but bring it to light. Let me say that prostitution is illegal in China, but in front of my place there are about 4 ‘massage’ parlors that are adorned with soft pink lights, supposedly these are the ones that offer special services. So why is this one closed? The real question is why are they allowed to operate? The answer to that is easy, culture, greed and corruption. The answer as to why this specific place has closed its doors while the one to the east of it and 150 yards is open probably falls within the same spectrum of answers, greed, corruption, and probably a greater emphasis on the latter. The sad thing is that I live in a residential neighborhood, and its not cheap either. But on a nightly basis I see little kids running around and inevitably they scurry past this one ‘massage parlor’, I just wonder what they think, or if they just become immune to it. The really sad thing is that prostitution is found in every country, but usually if its illegal, they try to hide it, make it seem like its an ‘under the table thing’. Not here, not in Beijing, not in China…