Need a nurse in Taiwan?

There is a clinic in Taiwan that has been fined for using nude portraits of the nurses to attract customers. I bet it worked.


(via artbaba)

The Asian in American Art

Franz Klein (1910-62): Post-War abstractions
Mary Cassatt (1844-1926): Japanese composition and printing techniques
Ad Reinhardt (1913-67): Estatic minimalism seeking trancendence through abstraction


The Guggenheim Museum in New York City has a fascinating exhibit on display Jan30-Apr19, 2009 called The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860–1989.

This exhibition traces how Asian art, literature, and philosophy were transmitted and transformed within American cultural and intellectual currents, influencing the articulation of new visual and conceptual languages.

I happened upon an advertisement for this exhibit reading New York Magazine, a guilty pleasure for sure. When the website loaded, I was not impressed with the formatting in particular and the text blocks were squeezed on the left side. After reading the narrative, I craved pictures, slideshows, videos of the things they were sharing. I wanted to SEE Ezra Pound's manuscript of his translations of Chinese poet, Li Bai, written despite his total inability to read or speak Chinese. I enjoyed the Martha Graham video of her collaboration with Japanese sculptor Isamu Noguchi in the work, Frontier. I was happy to see Georgia O'Keefe and Arthur Dove who played with the concept of landscape, fuseing the pastoral or natural with the patterns of the mind.

The artists of Asia have spiritually-realized form rather than aesthetically invented or limited form, and from them I have learned that art and anture are Man's environment within which we can detect the essence of man's Being and Purpose, and from which we can draw clues to guide our journey from partial consciousness to full consciousness. -- Morris Graves

Then, scanning my friend Kat's company newsletter, RedBox News, I came across a review of the exhibit by Brooklyn-based author Ellen Pearlman. She does a great job tracing the outlines of the exhibit.

Some catchy lines:

...The Third Mind proposes a new art-historical construct––one that challenges the widely accepted view that American modern art developed simply as a dialogue with Europe...

...To truly understand China’s role requires a separate show focusing on the origins of Chinese influence in Japanese art and tracing it all the way to up through modern times...

Osnos to Vietnam

I am on a visa that requires me to leave and re-enter the country every 90 days. Yunnan borders Laos, Burma, Vietnam.... so after a 12h bus ride, I could theoretically wake up in Norther Vietnam, say, tomorrow. As I currently scheme to make a living, I am considering another trip to Sapa across the border in March or April.

That is why it was so exciting to see Osnos' posts about his trip to Vietnam last week. He noticed a swiftly-implemented helmet law that is decreasing head injuries by 30%. (China, take note!) He noticed that Vietnamese translators had granddaughters who craved the new Miley Cyrus biography and the Vampire series books in English. And he noticed that China has claimed natural domination in the region for thousands of years, thus diminishing the reveberations of the "American War" that are so quickly fading into touristic memory.

I need to get back to Vietnam. But first, I want to study my Google Earth to remind myself that vast metal detritus of American ordinance still scars the Vietnamese countryside. I want to review that whole French War, American War, Chinese War historical progression. I wonder how Vietnamese industry and trade and tourism are being affected by the economic slowdown to the North.


Two faces of Sapa.
So many little girls... So many faces...

Dali, a quick trip

I am always amazed that Dali continues to remodel, renovate and reconstruct itself. I am amazed that the construction industry and the government continue to find new places in need of total overhaul. First in 1999, it was the reconstruction of the "ancient city wall." I remember the main drag being retrofitted with Parisian style lampposts a while back. I remember the huge marble arch erected over Foreigner Street commemorating the worldwide reputation of Dali last year.

Now the government has turned its gaze to, perhaps, the most famous street in Dali. The "Third Moon Street" is home to the ancient (and aptly-named) Third Moon Festival. For centuries, people from far and wide have come to Dali to race horses and trade goods for two weeks during the third lunar month. It is also well known to tourists, local officials and surprised evening strollers as the Red Light District. Should that be in capital letters? In Dali, perhaps this cracked, dusty hill boulevard of sex work and off-key karaoke should remain in lowercase. Soon, the revelers and service staff will be strolling on new pavement to the burbling sounds of new sidewalk waterways.




As I was leaving my house on the mountainside, I have to cross a new 8 lane highway. A few years ago, this was a 2-way dirt road lovingly called 'the old road.' Today, this is quickly becoming the swift road with few lights that cuts the time from the new city of XiaGuan to the old town of Dali to 20 minutes. In many ways, this road is awesome. I have to cross this road to get into town. I know it can be dangerous trying to cross in the best of times, and with adverse conditions such as scalding sand whipping down the mountain, it can be quite trying.

I was not surprised to see this funeral parade crossing skittering to the center island. They were wearing white head scarves, blowing crude trumpets and carrying the tent-like coffin. They were circling the body, clapping and chanting. I could not help but wonder: "Is this the way old people in Dali are dying? or Is this the way young people are dying in Dali?"

Highway safety, people. I hear it all the time: Country bumpkins have no culture. They have no idea how to follow traffic regulations. Whine, whine, whine. Yes, they are new to big fancy highways. Especially when those highways cut through their old pedestrian-friendly towns, their traditional market trekking patterns and their sacred ancestral lands. I have heard people whisper about ghosts of vehicular homicide victims stalking Dali, unsettled by their method of demise. Instead of griping about how people do not know how to cross the street, maybe there is a way to encourage safe crossing by, oh I don't know, traffic lights, cross walk enforcement, signs, warning bells, creating detours on market days.... I know there are ways to keep people from dying while walking across an 8 lane highway. Combined with increased car ownership and growing road rage, pedestrian health in should remain a priority in an ever-complicating China.



This is the beautiful Blue Mountains. They are not blue, usually green with trees or grey with rain and snow. This is the March 1st snow cover atop the 4000m peaks. I love these mountains for their height, their depth, and their simple unfolding magnificence.

What China Wants from Obama

This is a really interesting group of folks, mostly professors and analysts, discussing their perceptions of Chinese expectations of Obama. Some excerpts below.

Chinese + Democracy= We do not know yet...
Daniel A. Bell, political scientist

Most students recognize that change must come, but democracy is now more often blamed for political instability and economic inefficiency. Hence, they and many intellectuals are turning to China’s own traditions for inspiration. Democracy with Chinese characteristics is still the slogan, with more debates centering on the Chinese characteristics.

China and The US are in the same boat, kind of.
Andy Xie, economist

What happens in Florida and Arizona can have a significant and immediate effect on jobs in Guangdong. For example, when 70 percent of the furniture sold in the United States is made in China, any downturn in the housing market (fewer buyers of new furniture) means layoffs in China. The United States lost three million jobs since the subprime-mortgage debacle. China has lost 20 million.

Respect, Save, and Modernize Traditional Dwellings
Michael Meyer, preservationist and writer

If Hillary Clinton were to step away from photo-ops at the Great Hall of the People and walk 200 yards south past the edge of Tiananmen Square, she would enter Dazhalan — a half-square mile of 114 hutong, or lanes. Home to 57,000 people, this 800-year-old neighborhood exemplifies the sort of urban planning that many American cities seek to recreate, featuring narrow, car-free streets enlivened by a tight-knit community. Mrs. Clinton should visit the area while it’s still there; wide roads are slated to pierce through the heart of this historical center, where a new boutique mall and a Wal-Mart already shadow its edges.

AND another story about imminent destruction of Qing Dynasty dwellings in Shanghai, ironically perilously located in the recreated Qibao district that showcases a (new) "old-style" neighborhood. This story also has some good links to other WSJ articles about demolition of historic properties, a video of the Liu house in Shanghai, and general dissatisfaction among property owners bought out by encroaching construction.

It seems 20 million migrant workers in China are unemployed. Maybe they are all waiting for an unlikely phone call offering a job back on the coast...

We are all from Dream City

This piece is truly amazing, thick, thoughtful writing by Zadie Smith on Obama.

Zadie Smith is usually amazing. I saw her speak once. She signed my paperback copy of White Teeth that somehow got sent on permanent loan to a former neighbor. I loved that book: a portrait of families in England, one like hers (Jamaican/British) and one Muslim-British. Now she is back writing about these identity concepts is ways that make the imagination sparkle just reading.

"The conclusions Obama draws from his own Pygmalion experience, however, are subtler than Shaw's. The tale he tells is not the old tragedy of gaining a new, false voice at the expense of a true one. The tale he tells is all about addition. His is the story of a genuinely many-voiced man. If it has a moral it is that each man must be true to his selves, plural."

Things that have been keeping me interested:

A Recycling in China Blog natural resources, recycling culture, news commentary from Shanghai. And, a doom-and-gloom look at the scrap industry recession hitting China.

China on the Wild Side, a Time Magazine photo essay of disaffected, experimenting Chinese youngsters qnd related article by Rian Dundon.

Migrant workers flooding back home over the New Year holiday starting to get nervous about shrinking employment prospects in the East and the perilous future of life back in their rural hometowns. Now that is is over... how are they faring?

And now the worst drought since 1951, before my parents were born? This is a great overview of Water in China. This has not been a great lunar year and it threatens to get worse... Global joblessness seems on track to derail so much...

My new favorite classy China writer, Evan Osnos, has jumped off the New York Times ship and aboard the New Yorker. Based in China, he travels and reads and does excellent reporting for both articles and a great new blog. I especially enjoyed his visual on the hundreds of massive hydroelectric dams that may (or may not) be contributing to the seismic instability of the entire southwest of China (where I live and freaked out when feeling tremors from the 5.12 quake north in Sichuan.) He also has a nice Blogroll that took me in some new directions.

And finally, Starbucks has launched "South of the Clouds" the first domestically-produced coffee blend from (you guessed it!) Yunnan beans. That's right. Starbucks is trying to turn Chinese coffee into the next Chinese tea. I dream of the possibilities. This is a great review of articles on Starbucks in China- from object of disdain (think Forbidden City location, now defunct) to object of pure desire, to the point of dozens of Starbucks look-alike coffeeshops actually creating a bigger market for coffee in general and expanding the caffination levels of dozens of millions of Chinese folks who need something stronger than tea.

New Year and Back to Work

As I mentioned to a friend, I have been living like it is still the holidays. A very long holiday. Say, November, December, January... and now February is threatening to be as exhilaratingly unscheduled and loose.
But no! I say.
There are pressing things to be attended to, not the least of which is writing informal thoughts that result from media and cultural exposure. I need to keep writing and I am ready to try to win back my audience, um, you.

The New Niu Year in Images

2 1/2 Months Later.... The Dawn of A New Era

I woke up today after drowsily falling into sleepful bliss post-inauguration speech last night.

What a day!

I have also been checking up on photos and blogs and articles about "This Moment" and how the world is drastically different today.

Here is an article from my new favorite pundit John Heilemann from New York Magazine about how Obama is going to forge a path towards unity, to the potential chagrin of people in his party, by using the new progressive grassroots and Republican pragmatist allies. What fun.

I am also reminded (again) that Barack is just a man, but strong in vision and fortitude of purpose. I am thrilled today to honor his consistency and deep morality.

On a personal note: I posted some images of my dad's new Mansion on the Hill on my facebook page today. You can check them out here.

Non-Plussed

Brooks, looking forward to an Obama administration.

Walking into the Obama White House of my dreams will be like walking into the Gates Foundation. The people there will be ostentatiously pragmatic and data-driven. They’ll hunt good ideas like venture capitalists. They’ll have no faith in all-powerful bureaucrats issuing edicts from the center. Instead, they’ll use that language of decentralized networks, bottom-up reform and scalable innovation.

I can't help but think that I would be proud to be one of those people one day.

Three Ashleys

For better and worse, my namesakes become part of the political rhetoric.
And to think, I was Obama's Ashley. I guess I will settle for being Obama's Ashley in China!

The Logic of Subjectivity

Not much time to think about non-translating things right now, but these caught my eye.

It seems David Brooks is on to my new ideas and even sees a place in the world for me!

My sense is that this financial crisis is going to amount to a coming-out party for behavioral economists and others who are bringing sophisticated psychology to the realm of public policy.

While I may be focusing on entrepreneurial subjectivity in the Chinese periphery, I still think there is something to be said generally for looking seriously into HOW people perceive risk and stability and commit Errors of Perception that can being entire economies to their knees. All this is about HOW you look at the problem, according to Brooks. POINT: Subjectivity Matters.

And Tom Friedman usually makes me feel good about studying entpreneurialism.

Ultimately, we can’t bail our way out of this crisis. We can only grow our way out — with more innovation and entrepreneurship, which create new businesses and better jobs.

This editorial has a very good illustration of what government-held banks may mean for the future of financial risk-taking and credit. 'The new, the small, the foreign and the risky' are all at serious risk of becoming categorically un-creditworthy in the new world order. The US Congress will generally engage in risk-averse behavior and could get itself into some pretty sticky favors or even outright corruption. POINT: Protect Entrepreneurialism and Innovation!

From the Deep Thought Files

Is America really ready to move 'beyond this politics of division'?
Are Americans really paying attention to political words?
And are they really ready to stand up (and walk out of their call center job in Indiana) to protest disgusting lies and savage desperate politics?

Damn. Go Indiana!

Good News

As the campaign seems to have hit a tipping point...

As I am busy translating (ie. working!) another calligraphy course...

As autumn rains pour and my new roommate takes a nap....

Here are several things that inspired me today:

Fiercely Good People Winning Awards!

NYT: Chinese Activist wins European Human Rights Award

Hu Jia, a soft-spoken, bespectacled advocate for democracy and human rights in China, was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, Europe’s most prestigious human rights prize. Last year, Mr. Hu testified via video link before a hearing of the European Parliament about China’s human rights situation. Weeks later, he was jailed and later sentenced to three and a half years in prison for subversion based on his writings criticizing Communist Party rule. Mr. Hu has been one of China’s leading figures on a range of human rights issues, while also speaking out on behalf of AIDS patients and for environmental protection.

“Whatever he does, he always stands in the forefront,” Mr. Teng said in an earlier interview. “Everything he wrote, everything he said, is straight from his heart. We have poor people and marginalized people in society whose voices are being muzzled. Hu Jia was trying to be the spokesman for the unheard voices.”

Packer: Burmese Journalist wins Media Foundation Courage Award

There’s one journalist in Burma who, through guts and guile, somehow finds a way to write real news stories: Aye Aye Win, the country’s A.P. correspondent. At a rare government press conference after last year’s suppression of the monks’ demonstrations, she kept pressing a police official for information about how many people had been killed.

Yesterday Aye Aye Win was awarded the Journalism and Courage Award of the International Women’s Media Foundation. The ceremony took place at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria; the winner’s remarks, which had to be delivered in absentia, make me slightly ashamed of the slackness and mediocrity of most American journalism: “I have pledged to work as a journalist in my own country, Myanmar, to serve the people and country with a firm belief that a free and independent press is vital to a free society…Journalism in Myanmar is a risky business. Anyone in my country, particularly journalists, can at any time be arrested, interrogated and charged without any sound reason. A knock on the gate at midnight unnerves and traumatizes our lives.”

Looking for a job?

This job posting just arrived in my email inbox from the State Department. Let me know if you want the details.

The Department of State: Office of WMD Terrorism is looking for a Nuclear Smuggling Operations Specialist.

I actually considered becoming a Nuclear Smuggling Major at Cornell. Damn.

Organic Farm: 10. 12

More pics here on Facebook!

It's Starting

! i am picking up many happy birthday wishes on the networks !
! happy 25th !
! kisses and hugs !

more later...after bed!

Politics

Fallows is right on so many things, especially Obama on China:

Obama really needs to raise his game when it comes to answering questions about US interactions with China. He fell back on the same old lame "they're manipulating the currency" argument, as simplistic and misleading a slogan as those on other issues he criticizes from McCain.

Nate at 538:

It's as though you could see avatars of Steve Schmidt and John Weaver perched atop John McCain's respective shoulders, wrestling for control of his message.

This is eerily similar to an earlier post I wrote speculating that J.S. McCain has indeed been pulled into multiple parts by his warring campaign advisers.

Me Two Weeks Ago:

McCain has turned into a human talking points memo... a broken record... a canned act... a puppet. His mistake is continuing to rely on a team that is internally split; one side is the maverick who wants to champion his departures from party line (ie. immigration) and the other side is the Bush-style-red-button-pressing-Rightist. He is bound to come across as schizophrenic, unsteady and disingenuous (at best).

Have you been everywhere, man?

This is a fun game for traveling down memory lane.
It seems Johnny Cash has me beat...by a long shot!

---------------------------------------------------
(I have been, I think, to all the places in bold. Copy the list, bold your places or pass it on!)

Reno, Chicago, Fargo, Minnesota, Buffalo, Toronto, Winslow, Sarasota, Wichita, Tulsa, Ottawa, Oklahoma, Tampa, Panama, Mattawa, La Paloma, Bangor, Baltimore, Salvador, Amarillo, Tocopilla, Barranquilla and Padilla.

Boston, Charleston, Dayton, Louisiana, Washington, Houston, Kingston, Texarkana, Monterey, Ferriday, Santa Fe, Tallapoosa, Glen Rock, Black Rock, Little Rock, Oskaloosa, Tennessee, Hennessey, Chicopee, Spirit Lake, Grand Lake, Devils Lake and Crater Lake.

Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville, Ombabika, Schefferville, Jacksonville, Waterville, Costa Rica, Richfield, Springfield, Bakersfield, Shreveport, Hackensack, Cadillac, Fond Du Lac, Davenport, Idaho, Jellico, Argentina, Diamantina, Pasadena and Catalina.

Pittsburgh, Parkersburg, Gravelbourg, Colorado, Ellensburg, Rexburg, Vicksburg, El Dorado, Larimore, Atmore, Haverstraw, Chatanika, Chaska, Nebraska, Alaska, Opelika, Baraboo, Waterloo, Kalamazoo, Kansas City, Sioux City, Cedar City and Dodge City.