COORS EXEC GETS DUI
"Beer baron Peter Coors' driver's license has been revoked after his arrest for drunken driving following a wedding celebration."
(MSNBC, unearthed by Joel Sogol)

RELIGIOUS OUTREACH TO CUBA LIMITED BY NEW POLICY
"The ties between Christian communities in Cuba and the United States are currently being threatened by proposed limitations on religious interchange, including stringent restrictions on travel and humanitarian aid. During the past year, major U.S. church denominations and religious organizations have experienced a number of unprecedented obstacles that impede their relationships with partner churches in Cuba. Administration actions have restricted their religious travel to Cuba and limited their ability to bring Cuban religious leaders to the United States, thus hindering their capacity to exchange, encourage, and commune with their faith partners in Cuba."
(LATIN AMERICAN WORKING GROUP)

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND LUNACY
The Department of Homeland Security has classified 77,000 businesses as part of the "critical infrastructure," a terrorist target that is vital to the operations of the U.S. and, thus, eligible for a $50,000 grant. On that list of national assets are ... 1,305 casinos, 234 restaurants, a tackle shop, a flea market and an Amish popcorn factory."
(SEATTLE TIMES)

FREEDOM FIGHTER OR VICTIM OF PLOT?
"Scholars regard Denmark Vessey as a precursor both to the Civil War and the civil rights movement, but he is among the most divisive Southern figures. In Charleston, S.C., many blacks exalt him as a freedom fighter, while some whites condemn him as a terrorist."
(ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION)

HEAD BUTT
"Italy grabbed the trophy, slid and dashed and danced as fireworks soared above.

Zidane was nowhere to be found. He had used his big head for stupidity, instead of for genius."
(SEATTLE TIMES)

ANN COULTER'S FLATULENT FIXATION
"Though she stops short of saying that the earth is 6,000 years old and Adam and Eve rode through the Garden of Eden on the backs of dinosaurs, in her quest to disprove evolutionary theory, Coulter echoes the arguments of the creationists from whom even many religious conservatives distanced themselves long ago. "
(MEDIA MATTERS)

WHAT, ME WORRY?
"From deteriorating security in Afghanistan and Somalia to mayhem in the Middle East, confrontation with Iran and eroding relations with Russia, the White House suddenly sees crisis in every direction."
(WASHINGTON POST, GRAPHIC COURTESY OF THOSE LOVABLE RED BASTARDS AT THE NATION)

DISSIN' THE DEAD
"At the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in the small town of Fernley, Nevada, there is a wall of brass plaques for local heroes. But one space is blank. There is no memorial for Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart. That's because Stewart was a Wiccan, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has refused to allow a symbol of the Wicca religion -- a five-pointed star within a circle, called a pentacle -- to be inscribed on U.S. military memorials or grave markers."
(WASHINGTON POST)

SO, WHAT'S IN A NAME?
These are the three little tiny pieces of paper that are each contained in tiny ornamental Chinese brocade boxes, proofs of the ink stones that I brought back for Zack, Carlos and me. The notations on them were written by Chris. (I'm "ba".) It seems that those little red seals that you see on all things Chinese are actually signatures of the author or artist and that each is, like our signatures, unique to its owner.

We stopped at a bookstore and had them made right there. We could have gotten them in English but I opted for a really Chinese motif. We then got involved in what it would say. This was a bookstore and the lady that was assisting us was very concerned that we should have our ink stones correctly made as they were our very first ink stones and they were for the whole family.

It is a common practice for Westerners to adopt Chinese names and you'll hear "That's my Chinese name" quite frequently. (How they got there is quite often a mystery to me.) Instead, I chose the Chinese character for "forest" because that is what Soto means. (I don't know who makes that stuff up. It doesn't mean that in Spanish any more than "Hart" means "deer" in English. It's one of the few things that stuck with me from college poetry classes.) She was pleased with that (probably thinking to herself, "Damn, I'm glad I don't have to interpret Zachary AND Carlos into Mandarin.")

"No, that's all I want," I told her when she asked about the first names. Our conversation was catapulted out of the mundane. She and Chris and the stone cutter, the security guard and the other owner of the store were now all involved in an animated and -to me - mysterious conversation about something that was obviously very wrong.

"They can't all be the same," Chris explained rather sheepishly. "They're your signatures. How about we give them some Chinese names?" I could tell it had become a matter of grave delicacy but, really, folks, it's just a souvernir. We were at an impasse because, well, my kids don't NEED Chinese names! CLICK HERE She reluctantly accepted that that was all that I wanted. Did I want them, she asked, all to be identical or would I, at least, like them different as they had them in all of the archaic styles. I told here that, yes, that would be lovely. Could she make them in three styles: the oldest would be mine, the next oldest Zack's, and the youngest Carlos'. She seemed, if not pleased, at least a bit appeased by that.

NO EXCUSE TO STEAMROLL PRESS
"The Bush administration's booming rhetoric leaves the impression that all this nation needs is a strongman at its head. That is dangerous talk for a country at war, the temptation to bend rules intense. The administration needs to stop its tired attack on the press for reporting on secret programs used in the war on terror. The debate should not be about the role of the press, but about the alarming lack of oversight of the executive.
(SEATTLE TIMES)

SEE MY CHINA PICTURES
Here are some low res photos of my trip to china.

FLYING UNDER THE INFLUENCE
"The driver was sober. The bird that crashed through the windshield of his car might have been flying under the influence."
(ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION)

SOME PHOTOS OF THE TRIP!

Chris shot these two photos. I'm not sure why some of these photos have such a bluish tint to them (it's either my photo editing or the monitor I'm using), but I thought I would post at least a few of the 1000+ photos that we took.

Here are a few links to some more photos.

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BEIJING, SUNDAY MORN

Friday we went to see the Beijing Martial Arts Team practice. Before that our hostess treated us to dinner in a nearby neighborhood. Ate my first duck head. (I preferred the pig ears from the other night's Beijing Duck dinner.) Chris tasted it so as not to be rude but didn't go very far with it. It really makes sense that the Olympics would be held here. I don't know if its just because Chris and his friends are all into it or not, but it seems to me that Beijing is obsessed with sports. As Chris explains it, the educational slots are limited and highly sought. Like the minorities in our country, sports is seen as a way out for many families and the kids start very young. The practice was at a local martial arts school (About the size and status of Spring Hill College) and it was really impressive. What was also impressive was that, like the little girls at the gym the other day, there were many little kids and teenagers (on a Friday night) who had come out to cheer the guys on. They oohed and aahed at everything these guys did and keep exhorting them to "pour oil on it".

Sunday, woke up late as we have been really pushing it. Went to the Forbidden City yesterday, probably the most impressive (along with Summer Palace) of the things I've seen here. Came back and decided to try the restaurant across the street from the hostel as it looked pretty decent. They did not disapoint. Had some Beijing Duck and were treated like royalty.

Went to the Chinese Opera and it did disappoint. Instead of the staid and opulent classic old theatres, they had booked us into an opera that was in a luxury hotel. The theatre was cavernous and from our nosebleed seats we could hardly see anything. It also didn't help set a good mood that a tour group of Koreans came in late and made a commotion while they were being accomodated (jumping over seats so as not to inconvenience the persons near the aisles) and having their headsets being handed out to them. Their little antennae were such a ridiculous foreground silhouette framing the opera below. Add to that the cacaphony of Chinese music and vocals blended with the Korean translations blarring out of the headsets and, well, suffice it to say we left early.

Beijing has a booming prostitution "industry" which caters to European men. So, literally thousands of times a day I get asked if i'm interested in going to a "lady bar". I asked one of Chris' friends to "suppose" for me what might happen If I were to say yes. He "guessed" that I would be taken either to a trailer or mobile home or maybe a flat (which makes it not a lady "bar" but who knows what) and then I could pick from among 30 lady bar patrons and take her somewhere. "You would be taken to a dingy little place with a dingy little bed................," he supposed.

Chris had an employment interview so I tagged along. The disco isn't my bag (or cup of tea, after all, I am in China) so I went to the Hard Rock Cafe. After a week in China you come to expect that the service will be top notch and gracious. That is not the case with Hard Rock Beijing. It's just as big a tourist trap as any that I've ever been in - from the 100RMB "first drink cover" to the staff attitudes. They have managed to import all that is wrong with the American service industry. Serves me right for even going there.

Went to Sanlitun area (Bourbon Street times ten) and cruised around. By now we've hooked up with all of Chris' friends and they know where the local cool places are. It was very nice expat bar and, of course, the main topic of conversation was the World Cup. Ran into drugs, which surprised me. Watched Portugal beat Iran in an open air area that had a huge screen against a very modern building whose lighting kept changing. Was really nice expat and Chinese folks all rooting for their teams. Again, stayed out until 4:00 am and this morning we have decided to "chill".

REPORT FROM BEIJING

The scale of Beijing is very surprising, kind of a cross between Paris, Moscow and Havana. Quickly liberated of notion that this was some sort of third world backwater joint. (It's probably a combination of third, second and first world). This has been kind of like being on the set of a Bob Hope "road" movie with a twist of Star Trek thrown in. I have taken millions of photos. We spent last night downloading them into Chris' computer and he's put a few of them on www.myspace.com/cmlovell.

The night life is amazingly sophisticated and then you just as quickly fall into a class sinkhole with horrific sights of beggars without arms and shit like that. There's obviously big money, big economy in swing here but the size of the population is humbling. Went out the first night but didn't last too long. Hadn't had the energy to go out at night as we had been going from sun up till late at night.

World Cup fever is rampant. Our first sojourn into the nightlife was at an expat bar called Brown's and it looked like Heroes. Everywhere we go there are giant (I'm talking billboard size) TV screens set up with throngs of folks looking on.

Have done more walking than I have ever done. There must be hundreds of univerities here. Visited a few. The food is tremendous with choices that are just astounding. Went yesterday to a Korean barbeque joint and cooked our own meal at a hibachi built into our table. Came back Thursday night exhausted. Then we went to the Summer Palace, rented a boat after walking around the tremendous grounds and just lazed for awhile. Rode another boat home and then a power boat through the channels in Beijing, way cool.

Avoid shopping at the Silk Market. What a nightmare. Tons and tons of knockoffs but through a gauntlet of aggressive Chinese salespeople. Didn't last too long, wasn't worth it. Noone expects to pay the price asked and they think you're a fool if you don't haggle. Makes for a pretty long time to buy an item and it's just too stressful and wasteful a price to pay for worthless crap. This really is the World Cup of barter. I can't stand it. The hostel is situated in a little area just below Tienemen and has plenty of shops so you can avoid that crap at Silk Market completely.

Went out for Peiking Duck that night with a Chinese friend of Chris'and it was really spectacular. This reminds me of my honeymoon trip to Paris, no bad meals. Get the pig ears.

Thursday (could this really be only our second day here?) was quite a day. Got up early and moved our stuff to a hostel as it was way cheaper. Went from a Holiday Inn type hotel to (CLICK HERE): 365 Inn (A hostel that is very close to Tienemen. Highly recommended.). It is in your classic Chinatown. Talk about a "road movie". Very very cool. Walked down the hutongs, ate, bickered with the locals. (film at eleven).

We went to see Chris' friends practice their martial arts and saw the damndest little 9-12 year old girls practicing gymnastics. so cute and accomplished. went to the Tienemen square as well as the Forbidden City and fooled around in a hutong eating dinner and looking at knickknacks.

Went to the high class mall that is on par with anything anywhere. Bought me a fancy designer chinese made shirt. China is a study in contradictions. (Even Mao said that all one can do is hope to minimize the contradictions.) Went from a glamorous mall to a "cd store" in someone's home in the hutong on the way back to the hostel and got a glimpse of working class chinese living arrangements.

Thursday we did very little but walk and gawk. Helped Chris look for an apartment (which he found) and just did a little shopping. Went out that night and ate at The Banana Leaf in the club district (near The Loft) a Thai place that was wonderful. The food has been such a heavenly surprise. It's like France, haven't had a shabby meal yet. Went to a Salsa bar and then to Passion one of the fanciest discos that I have ever seen. (lasers, computerized multi-media, hd tvs at the urinals, etc. saw an electronic billboard in a subway tunnel today, same thing, very high tech stuff I've never seen. went to an internet cafe and it was super modern with about 300 work areas, filled to the max.It seems that everyone in China is internet connected. Even this hostel has DSL.)

Since Passion really wasn't our bag, we ended up at a pickup bar where I was introduced (not in the literal sense) to the concept of Mongolian Whores. Stayed out way too late and ended up walking arm-in-arm with Chris down our little ghetto street at 4:30 next am, made for a late and sluggish start. Stayed in that night.

Today we went to the rental office to finish signing the contract and just spent the day doing that kind of crap. Big news, Beijing has a Wal-Mart so we stopped in there. Funny what you miss.