I Spy
08.05.2006
There comes a moment in the back of any police van when your thoughts turn to the chain of events that has brought you to this moment in your life, and with perhaps more urgency, to any potential chains of events that may help lead you someplace else. Whether it's the softness of the cushions (designed for beefy men who sit all day), the gentle rocking of the van, or that feel…
08.05.2006
There comes a moment in the back of any police van when your thoughts turn to the chain of events that has brought you to this moment in your life, and with perhaps more urgency, to any potential chains of events that may help lead you someplace else. Whether it's the softness of the cushions (designed for beefy men who sit all day), the gentle rocking of the van, or that feel…
Hong Kong
10.06.2006
When it comes to the future, we were robbed. Raised in anticipation of the new millennium, we let the grown-ups fill our ears with sweet promises even as they failed to do any of the basic or applied science needed to make them a reality. The year 2000 was supposed to bring us flying cars, flying robots, moon cities, undersea bases, bionic medicine, artificial brains, orbiting …
10.06.2006
When it comes to the future, we were robbed. Raised in anticipation of the new millennium, we let the grown-ups fill our ears with sweet promises even as they failed to do any of the basic or applied science needed to make them a reality. The year 2000 was supposed to bring us flying cars, flying robots, moon cities, undersea bases, bionic medicine, artificial brains, orbiting …
Nobody Likes Moon Cakes
10.08.2006
Yesterday (October 6) was the mid-Autumn festival, a main event in the lunar calendar that was doubly significant this year, since it fell in the middle of the week-long National Day celebration, when all of China is on vacation and most of China is on the road. Considering that the festival also fell on a Friday, it was nearly the ultimate party weekend, spoiled only by a bit …
10.08.2006
Yesterday (October 6) was the mid-Autumn festival, a main event in the lunar calendar that was doubly significant this year, since it fell in the middle of the week-long National Day celebration, when all of China is on vacation and most of China is on the road. Considering that the festival also fell on a Friday, it was nearly the ultimate party weekend, spoiled only by a bit …
So You Want To Be A China Sex Blogger
08.31.2006
Sometime this May there appeared a weblog called Sex in Shanghai , detailing the adventures of a British expatriate seducing various ex-students from his English classes. The blogger, who called himself chinabounder, …
08.31.2006
Sometime this May there appeared a weblog called Sex in Shanghai , detailing the adventures of a British expatriate seducing various ex-students from his English classes. The blogger, who called himself chinabounder, …
Five Friendlies
08.15.2006
The Five Friendlies ( fúwá ) are the 2008 Olympic mascots whose reign of terror over Beijing will soon spread to all of China and then the world. Their cutesy doubled names collectively spell out " Beijing huanying ni ", or "Beijing welcomes you". The air outside any metro station is thick with the cries of merchants selling little dangly souvenir versions of the…
08.15.2006
The Five Friendlies ( fúwá ) are the 2008 Olympic mascots whose reign of terror over Beijing will soon spread to all of China and then the world. Their cutesy doubled names collectively spell out " Beijing huanying ni ", or "Beijing welcomes you". The air outside any metro station is thick with the cries of merchants selling little dangly souvenir versions of the…
Black Letter Days
07.26.2006
In my college days I remember a few close encounters with the Nouveau Roman , a postwar French literary genre created by French authors who wanted to score with as many chicks as film directors did. My memory now glazes over a lot of the texts, but I do remember the books dispensed with plot and linear time in favor of the repetition of small details - a set of blinds, …
07.26.2006
In my college days I remember a few close encounters with the Nouveau Roman , a postwar French literary genre created by French authors who wanted to score with as many chicks as film directors did. My memory now glazes over a lot of the texts, but I do remember the books dispensed with plot and linear time in favor of the repetition of small details - a set of blinds, …
The Day That Nothing Happened
06.05.2006
The Wal-Mart in the basement of my building sells live frogs in a big aquarium, for eating. I don't know what surprised me more when I moved here - the frogs, or the Wal-Mart. Our favorite intergalactic retailer doesn't mess around when it comes to creating 'capitalism with Chinese characteristics', as a group of Kentucky tourists hunting fruitlessly for American cheese in t…
06.05.2006
The Wal-Mart in the basement of my building sells live frogs in a big aquarium, for eating. I don't know what surprised me more when I moved here - the frogs, or the Wal-Mart. Our favorite intergalactic retailer doesn't mess around when it comes to creating 'capitalism with Chinese characteristics', as a group of Kentucky tourists hunting fruitlessly for American cheese in t…
Down The Yangzi
01.22.2003
The weather forecast tonight said lows approaching -20 F (that's -29 C, for you metric people. At forty below, we meet), which is the coldest forecast we've had so far. The actual temperature in the mornings, when I dash out onto the porch in a fit of curiosity to read the thermometer, is usually a good five degrees below the forecast low. I don't know if this is some fluke of geography, or…
01.22.2003
The weather forecast tonight said lows approaching -20 F (that's -29 C, for you metric people. At forty below, we meet), which is the coldest forecast we've had so far. The actual temperature in the mornings, when I dash out onto the porch in a fit of curiosity to read the thermometer, is usually a good five degrees below the forecast low. I don't know if this is some fluke of geography, or…
Three Gorges
01.21.2003
For all my recent posts about China, I never actually wrote about the Three Gorges. Regular readers will remember that the Chinese government has built a gargantuan dam on the Chang Jiang river, which means that the spectacular gorges behind it will soon be mostly underwater. You're still not out of luck if you fancy a river cruise - it will take a good ten years to raise the water level b…
01.21.2003
For all my recent posts about China, I never actually wrote about the Three Gorges. Regular readers will remember that the Chinese government has built a gargantuan dam on the Chang Jiang river, which means that the spectacular gorges behind it will soon be mostly underwater. You're still not out of luck if you fancy a river cruise - it will take a good ten years to raise the water level b…
Idle Words
brevity is for the weak
Eating the happiest cows in the world
I Spy
I go for a walk in Beijing and accidentally infiltrate the Chinese space program
Dabblers and Blowhards
Smushing Paul Graham
Attacked By Thugs
Warsaw police hijinks
Dating Without Kundera
Alternatives to the Slavic Dave Matthews
A Morning in Iceland
The best layover in the world
A Rocket To Nowhere
Space Shuttle rant
Best Practices For Time Travelers
The story of John Titor
French Week 3/03 (Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6)
100 Years Of Turbulence
Wright Brothers exposed
NYC Marathon 2003
Bleeding nipples
PC Forum
Business at the speed of dumb
Poland Joins The EU
Report from Warsaw
brevity is for the weak
Greatest Hits
Argentina on Two Steaks A DayEating the happiest cows in the world
I Spy
I go for a walk in Beijing and accidentally infiltrate the Chinese space program
Dabblers and Blowhards
Smushing Paul Graham
Attacked By Thugs
Warsaw police hijinks
Dating Without Kundera
Alternatives to the Slavic Dave Matthews
A Morning in Iceland
The best layover in the world
A Rocket To Nowhere
Space Shuttle rant
Best Practices For Time Travelers
The story of John Titor
French Week 3/03 (Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6)
100 Years Of Turbulence
Wright Brothers exposed
NYC Marathon 2003
Bleeding nipples
PC Forum
Business at the speed of dumb
Poland Joins The EU
Report from Warsaw
Every Damn Thing
Every Damn Thing
Your Host
Maciej Cegłowski
maciej @ ceglowski.com
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