The Fifth Modern Wonder of the World

April 17, 2010

Tags: all you can eat, buffet, Chinese Food, chino, crowds, Distrito Federal, long lines, Mexico City
Posted in China, Mexico, Other | No Comments »

Perhaps you missed the last visit of the majestically inbred boy-king of Egypt as he was hauled about the world for all to revere. And maybe you’ve never graced the great halls of the British Museum to look upon its chunks of Grecian monuments. Or stepped up to the mighty pyramids and been harassed into riding a camel. The ancients remain a mystery. But as the wonders of the modern world are, by definition, modern, we should not be surprised to find they are not bound by the same rules of grandeur as those of the old...
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Blockage: Visits to the Three Gorges Dam

March 30, 2010

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Blockage: Visits to the Three Gorges Dam

A deep, stentorian voice echoed through the dry canyon air. Laser beams scattered across the wide, flat surface, forming images to match the narrator’s tale: trampling mustangs of water, swooping eagles, the Statue of Liberty. It was a story of mythical proportions, the battle of man versus nature, national progress, and Democracy, ending with th… Read More

The River

March 18, 2010

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We go to the river when we can. From our apartment it is just a quick turn and a crossing and we are there. It is wide as it bisects the city of Yichang, and slow moving. The water is not clean. We judge the quality of the air by the visibility over the river – some days the round hills and towers on the other side are crisp; other times we cannot see the opposite bank, and t… Read More

This Ridiculous World Guide: China – Museums

March 14, 2010

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Part One: The Patrons A Chinese museum is a fascinating place. Not because of the exhibitions of history. No, in a country with a heritage longer than that of Jesus the ubiquitousness of artifacts is less impressive than expected. Nowadays… Read More

Corn Juice for the Masses

March 5, 2010

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Stuff People Ingest Voluntarily episode 31 Before you start accusing us of focusing on the poor, fading laundry as part of our own Antonioni scheme to sabotage the world’s image of an entire nation, let us be clear: we are more interes… Read More

Face Value

February 27, 2010

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The Nanjing Galaxy Yacht Club floats securely in the yellowish, turbid water of the Yangtze River. The neighborhood – in the northwest of the city, far from the Ming Dynasty wall – is mostly industrial. Not far upstream is the f… Read More

The City: a poem

February 23, 2010

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I have seen only one true city that cannot hide its true citiness; In the desert a city cannot escape itself; It must come out at night: it is only practicality; Even its religions can only hope to steal its reasons for their own. A city is not the… Read More

New Year Predictions

February 15, 2010

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The niu year has now passed. While it may be inauspicious to go digging up old news and past grudges, a quick rummaging through our archives has revealed a few loose tigers, so to speak, which deserve a bit of the spotlight on this festive day. A… Read More

The Long Lost Vestments of American Reason

February 9, 2010

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Totally Awesome Picture of the Week 68 In the dark corner of a far away forlorn church stand these three forgotten souls. Bruised, dirty, chipped and abandoned they doze like wallflowers in the shadows as patrons play hooky for every reason… Read More