It’s April Again

Today I smoked a joint and walked around the Gulou area, and thought about many things. People everywhere, great clumps of pollen swirling in a funnel right above my head. Bright sunlight through the little olive leaves onto my face. I thought of my old professor, Moses. He lives in Beijing and so far has […]

Caixin is awesome, but the sun is still gonna blow up someday

This article here, Urban Platforms in a Policy Pressure Cooker, is just one example of Caixin Online’s excellent reporting on China’s political and economic landscape. The high-quality English is also extraordinary, as most Chinese media almost never nail the news voice that, for better or for worse, dominates the international media’s idea of what is credible […]

Up for Grabs

I spent a full year under the harsh lights of Ctrip’s corporate glare and I wrote a lot of stuff for them. It seemed like pissing into the wind, for the most part. I met great people there, but the Chinatravel.net site for which I worked is the mortally wounded man doggedly clinging to life, […]

Recent news and other tidbits

Once again, i have neglected my own personal blog in favor of other “cooler” spots that either pay me or raise my exposure level up a micron. Unfortunate, but a lot of it has to do with fatigue and time. With two sons (pic post coming up later, don’t worry) a brother truly has no […]

Fast, Cheap or Good: You can only have Two

Rumor has it that Tom Waits once said this to Jim Jarmusch over whiskey and pop tarts, but it could have been Ben Franklin. I find it to be a pretty decent appraisal of what is possible in today’s world. In the US, I believe people chose “fast and good” whereas in China people chose […]

Into a groove

When it comes to blogging and just writing in general, its important to get your groove on. For a while there I was writing wak destination guides using bad reviews from the web and memories — either mine or some one elses. That actually hasn’t changed. part of my job is still exactly that: armchair […]

I should be armchair travelin’

but i’m surfin instead. The other day my man Charlie got the China Blues, you know, when it dawns on you that all of the things that you heard about China as a kid actually don’t exist anymore and have been replaced by “ignorant drones on autopilot” … happens to all of us here. I […]

Horse & Tea Trade Route

I’ve been up and down this road and written a few things about it — the road that links India and Southeast Asia with southwest China and Tibet. Here are links to the stories I have written and also a lil slideshow to boot: Yunnan, yonis, Sichuan & ponies Shaxi Town The Horse and Tea […]

New ish has come to Light

If you have not noticed, I have a few Fiction tales up. I won’t be posting a bunch of tales there, just a couple to whet peoples’ appetites. The latest one is called, “The Imam who Sang” and I like it. Check it out. I also just recently updated Nonfiction to reflect some work i […]