After reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in fifth grade, I have always had this dream of going on a river raft adventure down the Mississippi River. Since moving to Asia I still kept the dream but wanted to do it down the Yangtze or the Yellow river. Wouldn't it be fun to build...Read more
Ever had an unreasonably nasty neighbor? They're a pain in the ass, kind of like getting a splinter that you can't pull out. There's this lady who lives below me and she's one of those nasty ones. When I moved in three years ago, I was unpacking boxes at around 9:30 at night and she came up to complain about the noise. I told her I was sorry but that I wasn't actually making that much noise and I would try to be more quiet. Mind you they live two floors below me. Then just as I was about to shut the door...Read more
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3r6xvwPGcYWell thanks to my friends in Beijing, I've been at home sick the past few days. Nothing to worry about though because it allowed me to watch the Democratic National Convention and to finally see Obama officially announced as the Democratic National Candidate. If you've been reading this blog or know me in any way what so ever, you know I have been supportin...Read more
Today is the last day of the Olympics and the finals of one of my favorite sports, basketball. Today Lithuania took on Argentina for the bronze and Spain vs. USA for the gold. Argentina won easily but the highlight of the day was watching Spain give the US a run for it's money. I thought The Dream Team 2 was going to blow out Spain and was expect...Read more
Went to the Athletics event last night at the Bird's Nest. Where did the name Athletics come from? I thought it was called Track and Field? How is Athletics a better name? To me it sounds like high school P.E., physical education. What was I being physically educated about? We were just playing sports.
I wrote a nice long blog about my first Olympic event and how great the atmosphere here in Beijing is now but when I tried to upload it, it disappeared so all your going to get from me here is the photos. Congrats to Nadal for the gold!
On another note my heart goes out to Liu Xiang for pulling out of the Olympics. I don't think any single athlete in the world had as much pressure as he did. I can only imagine the dialogue going on inside his head for the past few weeks. I hope he ...Read more
The picture above is why I never liked wrestling. I did it for a summer as a kid and didn't like having a sweaty guy in tights rubbing all over me. At least this never happened to me. I think his family jewels are sitting on top of the other guy's forehead. Nasty!
Anyway, after six weeks of relentless work in Taipei, I've finally made it out alive and to Beijing to c...Read more
Ok, here's another great food item from Taiwan. It's a cold noodle dish that is simple and cheap. That's my favorite kind of food. I mean, the fancy stuff is great but when you enjoy the taste of something that is simply and humbly made, it just tastes that much better. I'm not exactly sure what's in it but the power comes from it's perfectly made sauce. There is cert...Read more
If you're in Taiwan, you must stop by Din Tai Fung. World famous for their soup dumplings or Xiao Lung Bao. Although they have outlets in China, Hong Kong and La, the best dumplings can only be had in the original Taipei outlet.The key to Xiao Lung Bao is the skin. It must be delicate, thin and almost transparent. I think the reason why they are ...Read more
Video: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=n1wnOUH2jk8 So while I was looking at references for Jin's music video, Berton Changshowed me this one. I love it because it's so simple and yet so complex at the same time. Making it must have been such a pain but it was worth it. Keeping things clean and simple is usually the hardest to pull o...Read more