Reflections on a month spent wandering the Chinese Internet: China was hit hard about a month ago by the big Boxing Day earthquake in Taiwan, which knocked out or hindered access to most foreign websites from behind the great wall. As one Chinese acquaintance of mine put it “This is really a big inconvenience for [...]
Expat Stuff Posts
Clearing up the China Funk
Today, one of my friends said to me “dude, you seem so bitter lately,” and after a little introspection I realized that he was right – I have been bitter lately. It seems like lots of things have gone wrong all at once, and I’m starting to generalize my dislike for the things that have [...]
The Grey Matter of Snake Heads
I recently caught this article in my CBC news feed and it got me thinking about what the Chinese call “snake heads“. They are so named for ‘leading/heading’ groups of “rénshé” into other countries. Rénshé is the slang for those Chinese that slither across borders into other countries illegally. Poetic language, Chinese is. Snake heads [...]
Born To Ride – The Bus
I live in Suzhou, and as such am well accustomed to the pain-in-the-assedness of the seething swarms of scooters that buzz about the city, apparently oblivious to my peripatetic situation. These things are everywhere, and have more than once jutted in front of busses I’ve been on, causing the passengers in the back to intimately [...]
Building Your Own Computer in China
Well, since my old pandapassport post about expensive real software in China is doing so fabulous on the newly created Chinalyst’s Popular Content page, I thought I’d balance here it with a new post dedicated to helping foreigners shop for cheap hardware in China. Anyway, I’ve been talking to some of my “people,” discussing my [...]
Climbing The Wall
UPDATE August 23/09: While some of these may still work, if you are in China for any length of time, we recommend getting yourself hooked up with a Virtual Private Network (VPN). For a super-fast and versatile solution, check out WiTopia. If their inexpensive yearly fee is too much for you, give the ad-supported (but [...]
The Beating Of A Chinese Bus Driver
Now, I’ve said my share of curses towards the lead footed (both gas and break) drivers of the over-stuffed death-traps that are China’s transit system, but man … some days it just doesn’t pay to ask for correct change… Basically, the story goes… two dudes and their tight-panted tag-along get on a bus in Wuhan [...]
Standing In Doorways
I’ve decided that years of having really crap State-controlled TV has taken a huge toll on the populous population of China. It has caused near all 1.3 billion inhabitants of the PRC to view the world around them as nothing but an uncontrollable, intangible source of entertainment. It would seem to me that a numbness [...]
My Dog’s Erection Points To A Flawed Chinese Sex-Ed System?
About 2 months ago, me and my girlfriend got a dog – don’t ask me why, that’s another story. His name is Pepe. “Pepe Q-tip” to be exact, due to the fact that it looks like it’d be really easy to clean your ears with him. Anyway, to get to the point, it seems that [...]
On How to Become Famous in China
You too can do it in 3 easy steps! For any Canadians that come to China, one of the first things that Chinese people will mention is “Ah, Canada. Dashan is from Canada.” Dashan, otherwise known as Mark Rowswell, is indeed from Canada – and according to Wikipedia is probably the most famous Westerner in [...]
